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Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine >

2025 , Vol. 45 >Issue 5: 1119 - 1126

DOI: https://doi.org/10.19852/j.cnki.jtcm.2025.05.017

Original Articles

Effectiveness of Yiqi Chupi powder (益气除疲散) for alleviating cancer-related fatigue in patients following colorectal cancer surgery: a randomized controlled trial

  • Shulan HAO ,
  • Peng NAN ,
  • Likun LIU ,
  • Xiaoli LI ,
  • Qiming ZHONG ,
  • Yu GAO ,
  • Xixing WANG ,
  • Yingfang NIE
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  • Shanxi Province Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine & Shanxi Province Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Taiyuan 030012, China

Received date: 2024-09-22

  Accepted date: 2025-01-14

  Online published: 2025-09-15

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Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of Yiqi Chupi powder (益气除疲散, YQCPP) in reducing cancer-related fatigue (CRF) among patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) undergoing chemotherapy.

METHODS: This was a prospective, randomized controlled trial. Eligible patients were randomly assigned to either the experimental group, receiving a 12-week regimen of YQCPP and capecitabine plus oxaliplatin (XELOX) chemotherapy, or the control group, receiving a 12-week XELOX chemotherapy alone. Outcome measures were collected at baseline and subsequently at weeks 3, 6, 9, and 12 of the treatment period. The primary outcome was the Piper Fatigue Scale (PFS) score. The secondary outcomes were the Traditional Chinese Medicine syndrome and Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) scores.

RESULTS: Of 84 patients initially enrolled, 78 (92.9%) were evaluable. The experimental group exhibited significantly lower PFS scores (P <0.05) compared to the control group across all four subscales and total scores at 6, 9, and 12 weeks (P < 0.05). Additionally, the experimental group achieved a significantly higher effective rate (84.0% vs 7.89%, P < 0.05). The number of patients in the experimental group with improved or stable KPS scores increased significantly over the course of the treatment period in comparison to the control group (P <0.05) at 6, 9, and 12 weeks. There was a significant improvement in overall quality of life at weeks 9 and 12 in the experimental group.

CONCLUSION: YQCPP may decrease the CRF and improve quality of life in patients with CRC undergoing chemotherapy.

Key words： colorectal neoplasms; drug therapy; Karnofsky Performance Status; treatment outcome; cancer-related fatigue; Yiqi Chupi powder; randomized controlled trial

Cite this article

Shulan HAO , Peng NAN , Likun LIU , Xiaoli LI , Qiming ZHONG , Yu GAO , Xixing WANG , Yingfang NIE . Effectiveness of Yiqi Chupi powder (益气除疲散) for alleviating cancer-related fatigue in patients following colorectal cancer surgery: a randomized controlled trial[J]. Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 2025 , 45(5) : 1119 -1126 . DOI: 10.19852/j.cnki.jtcm.2025.05.017

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