Jeong, J. S., Ryu, B. H., Kim, J. S., Park, J. W., Choi, W. C., & Yoon, S. W. (2010). Bojungikki-tang for cancer-related fatigue: a pilot randomized clinical trial. Integrative Cancer Therapies, 9, 331–338.
To evaluate whether Bojungikki-tang has beneficial effects on fatigue and overall quality of life in patients with cancer.
Patients were randomized to the experimental group or the wait-list control group. The experimental group received Bojungikki-tang for two weeks. Bojungikki-tang was administered as granules containing a mixture of 10 medicinal plants given three times daily. Patients were randomized through computer generation. Patients were recruited through newspaper and hospital advertisements.
Unknown
The study was a randomized, controlled trial.
The experimental group had statistically significant improvements in VAS-F scores, as well as FACT-G, FACT-F, and TOI-F (p < 0.05) at week 2.
The study had a possible effect from the study drug, although p-values were on the edge of significance. The benefit shown suggests additional study is required in a larger, placebo-controlled trial.
Patients pursuing this treatment should be educated on the current need for additional research.