Bruceolic oil emulsion, when combined with androgen antagonists, shows the greatest efficacy in treating prostate cancer amongst Chinese patent medicines.
A Network Meta-analysis was conducted to review the safety and effectiveness of different Chinese patent medicines in treating prostate cancer. Various databases were systematically searched for randomized controlled trials of Chinese patent medicines until June 1, 2023. The risk of bias in the included studies was assessed using a tool specifically for randomized controlled trials. Main outcome indicators were how effective the medicine was, its impact on Prostate Specific Antigen, and any adverse reaction. Due to varying treatment durations across the studies, Bayesian mesh meta-regression was implemented to investigate the effects of these different courses on efficacy and safety.
The meta-analysis considered 27 articles involving 1885 patients and nine types of Chinese patent medicine. The findings indicated that certain medicines, namely Bruceolic oil emulsion and Compound Kushen injection, showed significant advantages compared to androgen antagonists regarding efficacy and Prostate Specific Antigen level reduction. However, no significant difference was found among all the Chinese patent medicines in terms of adverse reactions. With these findings, it was deduced that the effectiveness of Chinese patent medicines isn't greatly impacted by the duration of treatment and dosage. Overall, the combination of Bruceolic oil emulsion and androgen antagonist emerged as a promising intervention measure.
