Objective: To observe the curative effect of Jiedu Shengji Recipe (JSR) in preventing and treating acute radiation esophagitis in radiotherapy induced esophageal carcinoma patients.
Methods: Totally 86 mid-late stage esophageal carcinoma patients were assigned to the treatment group and the control group according to random digit table, 43 in each group. All patients received concurrent radiochemotherapy. Patients in the treatment group took JSR from starting the radiotherapy, one dose per day for 8 successive weeks, while those in the control group took mixture of dexamethasone, lido- caine, and gentamicin, 10 mL each time, taken before radiation and within 30 min after radiation, discontinued till the end of radiation. The occurrence time of acute radiation esophagitis and, duration of symptoms, esophageal radioactive damage degree, curative effect, improvement rate of Karnofsky performance scale (KPS) , and the incidence of adverse reactions were observed in the two groups.
Results: Compared with the control group, the occurrence time of acute radiation esophagitis was prolonged (15. 46±3. 37 days vs 10.23±2.46 days) , and duration of symptoms was shortened (20.18±4.56 days vs 26. 17±3. 26 days) in the treatment group, with statistical difference (P <0. 01). In the treatment group the occurrence rate of mid and high level (degree II to degree IV) acute radiation esophagitis was lower than that of the control group (Z =3. 34, P <0. 01). The total effective rate was 95. 35% (41/43) in the treatment group and 67. 44% (29/43) in the control group, with statistical difference between the two groups (X² =11.06, P<0.01 ). The improvement rate of KPS were higher in the treatment group than in the control group [65. 12% (28/43) vs 27.91% (12/43) ; X² =11.97, P <0. 01]. The incidence of adverse reactions were lower in the treatment group than in the control group with statistical difference [9.30% (4/43) vs 34. 88% (15/43) ; X²=8.17, P <0. 01].
Conclusion: JSR had better effect for preventing and treating moderate and severe acute radiation esophagitis in concurrent chemoradiotherapy induced esophageal carcinoma patients.