Bojungikki-Tang for Cancer-Related Fatigue: A Pilot Randomized Clinical Trial Jong Soo Jeong, MD (KMD), MS1, Bong Ha Ryu, MD (KMD), PhD1, Jin Sung Kim, MD (KMD), PhD1, Jae Woo Park, MD (KMD), PhD1, Won Cheol Choi, MD (KMD), PhD1, and Seong Woo Yoon, MD (KMD), PhD1
Abstract Background: Bojungikki-tang (Bu-Zhong-Yi-Qi-Tang in Chinese or Hochu-ekki-to in Japanese) is a widely used herbal prescription in traditional medicine in China, Japan, and Korea. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of Bojungikki-tang for cancer-related fatigue.
Methods: A total of 40 patients with cancer-related fatigue were randomized into an experimental or a waiting list control group. Patients in the experimental group were treated with Bojungikki-tang (TJ-41) and patients in the waiting list group remained without any intervention for 2 weeks.
Results: The experimental group showed statistically significant improvements in fatigue level assessed by the Visual Analogue Scale of Global Fatigue (VAS-F) measuring the severity of fatigue (experimental vs control: -1.1 ± 2.1 vs 0.1 ± 0.9, P < .05) and results of Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy–General (FACT-G), Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy–Fatigue (FACT-F), and Trial Outcome Index–Fatigue (TOI-F) also showed significant improvements (FACT-G, 3.7 ± 9.9 vs -2.4 ± 9.5, P < .05; FACT-F,8.0 ± 13.6 vs -2.2 ± 14.1, P < .05; TOI-F, 6.5 ± 9.2 vs -0.5 ± 10.9, P < .05).
Conclusions: The results of this study indicate that Bojungikki-tang may have beneficial effects on cancer-related fatigue and quality of lives in cancer patients. More rigorous trials are needed to confirm the efficacy of Bojungikki-tang.