Objective: To evaluate the clinical efficacy and partial action mechanism of mild moxibustion combined with salt-separated moxibustion for gastrointestinal discomfort caused by chemotherapy for breast cancer.
Methods: A total of 48 patients were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group, 24 cases in each group. The patients in the control group were treated with intravenous infusion of tropisetron hydrochloride (5 mg), once a day for three days; the patients in the observation group were additionally treated with mild moxibustion at Zusanli (ST 36), Zhongwan (CV 12), Guanyuan (CV 4), Qihai (CV 6) and salt-separated moxibustion at Shenque (CV 8), 15 min per treatment, once a day for 7 days. Before treatment and on the 7th day of chemotherapy, the levels of pepsinogenⅠ(PGⅠ), pepsinogenⅡ (PGⅡ), the ratio of PGⅠto PGⅡ (PGR) and gastrin 17 (G-17) in serum were measured. Before treatment and on the 3rd, 5th, 7th day of chemotherapy, the gastrointestinal reactions (nausea, vomiting, constipation, diarrhea) were compared between the two groups.
Results: On the 7th day of chemotherapy, the serum levels of PGⅠ, PGⅡand G-17 in the observation group were lower than those in the control group (P<0.05), and the difference in the level of PGR in serum between the observation group and the control group was not statistically significant (P>0.05). The total scores of nausea, vomiting and constipation during chemotherapy in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group (all P<0.05).
Conclusion: The mild moxibustion combined with salt-separated moxibustion could effectively improve the symptoms of nausea, vomiting and constipation caused by chemotherapy in patients with breast cancer, and its mechanism may be related to the down-regulation of the levels of PGⅠ, PGⅡ and G-17 in serum.
Keywords: breast cancer chemotherapy; gastrin; gastrointestinal discomfort; mild moxibustion; pepsinogen; salt-separated moxibustion.