Does the Couse of Astragalus-Containing Chinese Herbal Prescriptions and Radiotherapy Benefit to Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer Treatment: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Trials

Table 1

Characteristics of the eligible studies.

Study	No.	Stage	Protocol*	Herbal ingredients	Dose of RT	Duration (week)
Cai et al., 2002 [30]	92	III	CRT + AP	Astragalus, Codonopsis Radix, Poria, Alismatis Rhizoma, Ophiopogonis Radix, Schisandra Chinensis Fructus, Eriobotryae Folium, Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata, Corni Fructus, Cyperi Rhizoma, and Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizome.	60–70 Gy	6-7
Nin et al., 2002 [47]	72	NR	CRT + AP	Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma, Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma, Astragalus, Poria, Lycii Fructus, Lilii Bulbus, Coicis Semen, Armeniacae Semen Amarum, and Chuanxiong Rhizoma.	55–65 Gy; (2 Gy/f)	5–7
Lan and Jiang, 2002 [35]	47	III-IV	CRT + AP	Manis Squama, Glehniae Radix, Corni Fructus, Astragalus, Fritillariae Cirrhosae Bulbus, Ophiopogonis Radix, Polygoni Multiflori Radix, Rehmanniae Radix Preparata, Dioscoreae Rhizoma, Alismatis Rhizoma, and Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizome.	60 Gy	6
Wu, 2003 [25]	50	IIb-III	CRT + ADI	Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma, Astragalus, Mylabris, and Acanthopanacis senticosi Radix et Rhizoma Seu Caulis.	60–70 Gy; (2 Gy/f)	6-7
Wen, 2005 [26]	64	II-III	CRT + ADI	Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma, Astragalus, Mylabris, and Acanthopanacis senticosi Radix et Rhizoma Seu Caulis.	60–70 Gy; (1.8–2.0 Gy/f)	6-7
Huang et al., 2005 [29]	62	II–IV	CRT + AP	Astragalus, Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma, Pseudostellariae Radix, Lycii Fructus, Spatholobi Caulis, Carthami Flos, Sappan Lignum, Lonicerae Japonicae Flos, Galli Gigerii Endothelium Corneum, Dendrobii Caulis, Glehniae Radix, and Poria.	61–66 Gy	NR
Wang et al., 2006 [31]	85	III	CRT + AP	Astragalus, Pseudostellariae Radix, Angelicae Sinensis Radix, Scutellariae Barbatae Herba, Coicis Semen, Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma, Paeoniae Radix Alba, Rehmanniae Radix Preparata, Lilii Bulbus, Ophiopogonis Radix, Scrophulariae Radix, Fritillariae Cirrhosae Bulbus, and Platycodonis Radix.	70 Gy; (2 Gy/f)	7
Chen and Wang, 2006 [36]	100	III-IV	CRT + KAI	Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma, Astragalus, and Sophorae Flavescentis Radix.	65–70 Gy; (2 Gy/f)	6.5–7
Ma, 2006 [37]	69	III-IV	CRT + KAI	Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma, Astragalus, and Sophorae Flavescentis Radix.	65~70 Gy; (2 Gy/f)	6.5–7
Zhang et al., 2006 [32]	69	III	3D-CRT + AP	Pseudostellariae Radix, Glehniae Radix, Coicis Semen, Ophiopogonis Radix, Asparagi Radix, Astragalus, Lycii Fructus, Angelicae Sinensis Radix, Schisandra Chinensis Fructus, Schisandra Chinensis Fructus, Hedyotis Herba, Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma, Lonicerae Japonicae Flos, Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma, Moutan Cortex, Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata, Codonopsis Radix, and Poria.	56–62 Gy; (4-5 Gy/f)	3–5
Tian and Wang, 2007 [38]	75	III-IV	CRT + ADI	Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma, Astragalus, Mylabris, and Acanthopanacis Senticosi Radix et Rhizoma Seu Caulis.	60 Gy; (1.8–2.0 Gy/f)	6
Wang et al., 2007 [39]	100	III-IV	CRT & 3D-CRT + SQFZI	Codonopsis Radix and Astragalus.	60–70 Gy; (2 Gy/f)	6-7
Song et al., 2007 [20]	167	I–IV	CRT + AP	Manis Squama, Glehniae Radix, Alismatis Rhizoma, Fritillariae Cirrhosae Bulbus, Astragalus, Corni Fructus, Ophiopogonis Radix, Polygoni Multiflori Radix, Scrophulariae Radix, Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata, Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma, and Dioscoreae Rhizome.	60–70 Gy; (2 Gy/f)	6-7
Jiang and Xu, 2008 [40]	60	III-IV	CRT + DLSI	Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma, Astragalus, Mylabris, and Bufonis Venenum.	60–70 Gy; (1.8–2.0 Gy/f)	6-7
Fu et al., 2008 [48]	148	NR	CRT + ZQFZC	Astragalus and Angelicae sinensis Radix.	60–70 Gy; (2 Gy/f)	6-7
Huang and Hou, 2008 [21]	67	I–IV	3D-CRT + ADI	Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma, Astragalus, Mylabris, and Acanthopanacis senticosi Radix et Rhizoma Seu Caulis.	45–55 Gy; (5-6 Gy/f)	3-4
Xie et al., 2009 [41]	97	III-IV	3D-CRT + SQFZI	Codonopsis Radix and Astragalus.	60–70 Gy	6-7
Liu et al., 2009 [42]	56	III-IV	CRT + AP	Ganoderma, Hedyotis Herba, Chuanxiong Rhizoma, Stephaniae Tetrandrae Radix, and Astragalus.	64–88 Gy; (2 Gy/f)	6–9
Wang et al., 2009 [43]	42	III-IV	3D-CRT + SQFZI	Codonopsis Radix and Astragalus.	70 Gy; (2 Gy/f)	7
Qin et al., 2009 [22]	80	I–IV	3D-CRT + APS	Astragalus Polysaccharide.	50–70 Gy; (2 Gy/f)	5–7
Jia et al., 2010 [27]	64	IIb-III	CRT + ADI	Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma, Astragalus, Mylabris, and Acanthopanacis Senticosi Radix et Rhizoma Seu Caulis.	60–70 Gy; (2 Gy/f)	NR
Ji et al., 2011 [44]	162	III-IV	CRT + AP	Codonopsis Radix, Chuanxiong Rhizoma, Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma, Astragalus, and Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata.	60–70 Gy; (2 Gy/f)	6
Zhao et al., 2011 [33]	90	III	SBRT + AP	Astragalus, Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma, Poria, Rehmanniae Radix, Chuanxiong Rhizoma, Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma, Angelicae Sinensis Radix, Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma, and Paeoniae Radix Alba.	60–70 Gy; (2-3 Gy/f)	5-6
Gao et al., 2012 [23]	158	I–IV	3D-CRT + AP	Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma, Astragalus, Angelicae sinensis Radix, Gastrodiae Rhizoma, Rehmanniae Radix Preparata, Alismatis Rhizoma, Cassiae Semen, Cervi Cornu, Asari Radix et Rhizoma, Lycii Fructus, and Cuscutae Semen.	60–66 Gy; (1.8 Gy/f)	6–6.6
Mu et al., 2012 [45]	70	III-IV	CRT & 3D-CRT + SQFZI	Codonopsis Radix and Astragalus.	60–70 Gy	6-7
Wang et al., 2012 [46]	100	III-IV	3D-CRT + KAI	Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma, Astragalus, and Sophorae Flavescentis Radix.	60–70 Gy; (2 Gy/fr)	6-7
Cai et al., 2012 [24]	89	I–IV	3D-CRT + AP	Astragalus, Pseudostellariae Radix, Hedyotis Herba, Schisandra Chinensis fructus, Ophiopogonis Radix, Mori Cortex, Armeniacae Semen Amarum, Pinelliae Rhizoma, Trichosanthis Pericarpium, Curcumae Radix, Eriobotryae Folium, and Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium.	60–70 Gy	6-7
Li et al., 2013 [34]	120	III	CRT + ADI	Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma, Astragalus, Mylabris, and Acanthopanacis Senticosi Radix et Rhizoma Seu Caulis.	60–70 Gy; (2 Gy/f)	6-7
Yang, 2013 [28]	92	II-III	CRT + ADI	Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma, Astragalus, Mylabris, and Acanthopanacis Senticosi Radix et Rhizoma Seu Caulis.	60–70 Gy; (2 Gy/f)	6-7

Abbreviations—No.: number of participants; RT: radiotherapy; AP: Astragalus prescription; CRT: conventional radiotherapy; 3D-CRT: three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy; SBRT: stereotactic radiation therapy; ADI: Aidi injection; KAI: Kangai injection; SQFZI: Shenqi fuzheng injection; DLSI: Delisheng injection; ZQFZC: Zhenqifuzheng capsules; APS: Astragalus polysaccharide; f: fraction; NR: not reported.
*Treatment group intervention.