Published online Apr 27, 2025. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.v17.i4.100800
Revised: January 24, 2025
Accepted: February 25, 2025
Published online: April 27, 2025
Processing time: 98 Days and 23.5 Hours
The deleterious effects of surgical trauma and subsequent postoperative complications pose significant challenges to the smooth recovery of patients after gastric cancer (GC) resection despite the substantial curative benefits provided by surgical interventions for GC. Hence, the investigation of more optimal and efficacious treatment approaches has become an urgent necessity in the medical community.
To investigate the association of Sijunzi decoction plus chemotherapy with the gastrointestinal function and serum markers of patients after GC surgery.
This study included patients who underwent GC surgery from June 2022 to February 2024. The control group included 45 patients who received chemo
The two groups demonstrated similar defecation time (P > 0.05), but the intestinal gas discharge time and hospitalization time were significantly shortened in the research group (P < 0.05). Further, the research group exhibited significant CEA, CA125, and CA199 reductions after treatment, which were lower compared to the control group, as well as notable increases in TP and TRF that were statistically higher than the control group (all P < 0.05). Furthermore, the research group demonstrated an evident decrease in TCM syndrome scores in areas, such as poor appetite, epigastric distension and pain, fatigue and weakness (P < 0.01), and abdominal distension after eating, which are notably lower than those in the control group (P < 0.01), with a comparable incidence of grades III–IV adverse events (P > 0.05).
Our research results indicate that Sijunzi decoction plus chemotherapy exerts a good rehabilitation-promoting effect on gastrointestinal function in patients after GC surgery and significantly downregulates abnormally increased CEA, CA125, and CA199 levels.
Core Tip: Considering the scarcity of existing research regarding the association of the combination of Sijunzi decoction and chemotherapy with the gastrointestinal function and serum markers of patients after gastric cancer (GC) surgery, this investigation has meticulously conducted a comprehensive, multi-faceted comparative analysis of the clinical efficacy between the therapeutic approach of Sijunzi decoction combined with chemotherapy and chemotherapy alone in such patient populations. The assessment covers a wide array of aspects, including gastrointestinal function, serum markers, nutritional parameters, traditional Chinese medicine syndrome scores, and adverse events. The research results confirmed that the combined Sijunzi decoction and chemotherapy treatment effectively alleviated symptoms, such as poor appetite, epigastric distension and pain, fatigue and weakness, and abdominal distension after eating, besides its remarkable capacity to improve gastrointestinal function, optimize nutritional status, and rectify abnormally increased serum tumor markers in patients after GC surgery. These results will provide novel perspectives and valuable guidance for the clinical management of patients after GC surgery.