[Clinical study on heat-sensitive moxibustion for reducing toxicity and enhancing efficacy in adjuvant tumor...

To observe the clinical efficacy of heat-sensitive moxibustion in reducing toxicity and enhancing efficacy in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, and to provide a scientific basis for its application and promotion in cancer rehabilitation.

A total of 150 malignant tumor patients were selected and randomly divided into a control group (75 cases, with 25 dropouts) and an experimental group (75 cases, with 21 dropouts). The control group received conventional chemotherapy and pharmacological treatment, while the experimental group received additional heat-sensitive moxibustion treatment, which administered once daily for 1 week before and after each chemotherapy session, for 4 consecutive chemotherapy cycles. Evaluation indicators included the incidence of adverse reactions, anorexia/cachexia scale (A/CS-12), nausea and vomiting grading, white blood cell count, platelet count, hemoglobin level, bone marrow suppression grade, and response evaluation criteria in solid tumors (RECIST 1.1). Data were collected before and after each chemotherapy session and statistically analyzed.

Compared with pre-chemotherapy levels, as the number of chemotherapy sessions was increased, A/CS-12 scores were decreased in both groups (P<0.01), while the incidence of nausea and vomiting increased (P<0.01), the white blood cell count, platelet count, and hemoglobin levels were also decreased (P<0.01). Intergroup comparisons showed that the experimental group had a lower incidence of adverse reactions after each chemotherapy session (P<0.05, P<0.01), higher A/CS-12 scores (P<0.01), and lower rates of nausea and vomiting and bone marrow suppression (P<0.05, P<0.01) than the control group. Hematological analysis indicated that the experimental group had higher white blood cell counts and hemoglobin levels before the 2^nd to 4^th chemotherapy sessions (P<0.05, P<0.01), and higher platelet counts before the 3^rd and 4^th sessions (P<0.01). RECIST evolution result showed that the experimental group had an efficacy rate of 50.00%(27/54), which was higher (P<0.05) than that(28.00%[14/50]) of the control group.

Heat-sensitive moxibustion can reduce the incidence of chemotherapy-induced adverse reactions, alleviate gastrointestinal discomfort and bone marrow suppression, improve chemotherapy efficacy. It is worthy of clinical promotion and application.