Objective

2

To observe the effect of Modified

Xiaoliu Formula

（消瘤方） on quality of life， tumor burden and body immunity of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma （DLBCL） patients with healthy

qi

deficiency and phlegm coagulation pattern after chemotherapy.

Methods

2

Sixty DLBCL patients who have been evaluated as complete remission （CR） or uncertain complete remission （CRU） after chemotherapy （4 to 6 treatment courses） were randomly divided into control group and MXF group， with 30 cases in each group. All the patients were required to take follow-up appointment once a month after enrollment. In addition， the patients in the treatment group were given

Xiaoliu Formula

orally， for six courses with two weeks as a course. The traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） symptoms scores， European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer quality of life questionnaire core 30 （EORTC-QLQ-C30） scores， Karnofsky performance status （KPS） scores， tumor burden indicators including lactate dehydrogenase （LDH）， β2-microglobulin （β2-MG）， and immunoglobulin levels including immunoglobulin M （IgM）， immunoglobulin G （IgG）， immunoglobulin A （IgA） were measured before and after the treatment and compared between groups； the effective rates regarding TCM symptoms and quality of life， as well as the recurrence rate were assessed.

Results

2

The effective rate regarding TCM symptoms in the MXF group was 96.67%， significantly better than 33.3% in the control group， with significant differences（

P

＜0.05）. No patient relaps in the treatment group， while the recurrence rate was 16.67% in the control group （

P

＜0.05）. The improvement rate regarding quality of life was 80.00% in the treatment group， higher than 13.33% in the control group； and the deterioration rate was 0.00%， lower than 6.67% of the control group （

P

＜0.01）. After treatment， scores of fatigue， nausea， vomiting， shortness of breath， insomnia， loss of appetite and constipation， level of LDH and β2-MG decreased significantly， while scores of social function， emotional funtion， physical function， role function and overall health status， as well as level of IgA， IgG， IgM increased significantly （

P

＜0.05）. In the control group， scores of TCM symptom decreased after treatment （

P

＜0.05）， while changes of other indexes was not significant （

P

＞0.05）， and the differences within each group was significantly different （

P

＜0.05）.

Conclusion

2

Xiaoliu Formula

can effectively improve the TCM symptoms， quality of life， and body immunity of DLBCL patients with healthy

qi

deficiency and phlegm coagulation pattern after chemotherapy， and can reduce tumor burden indicators and recurrence of DLBCL.