Recent efficacy and long-term survival of Astragalus polysaccharide combined with gemcitabine and S-1 in pancreatic cancer

Table 1 Baseline information, n (%)

Indicators	Sex (male/female)	Age (year, mean ± SD)	TNM
			IIB	III
APS + GS (n = 41)	24/17	60.10 ± 11.26	17 (41.16)	24 (58.54)
GS regimen (n = 56)	37/19	58.35 ± 10.36	22 (39.29)	34 (60.71)
χ2 or t value	0.576	0.780	0.047
P value	0.448	0.438	0.829

APS: Astragalus polysaccharide; GS: Gemcitabine plus tegafur gimeracil oteracil potassium capsule (S-1); TNM: Tumor node metastasis classification.

Table 2 Comparison of short-term efficacy, n (%)

	ORR	DCR
APS + GS (n = 41)	21 (51.22)	23 (56.10)
GS regimen (n = 56)	17 (30.36)	20 (35.71)
χ2 value	4.323	3.985
P value	0.038	0.046

APS: Astragalus polysaccharide; GS: Gemcitabine plus tegafur gimeracil oteracil potassium capsule (S-1); ORR: Overall response rate; DCR: Disease control rate.

Table 3 Immune function (%, mean ± SD)

Indicators	CD3+	CD4+	CD8+	CD4+/CD8+	IL-2 (pg/mL)	INF-γ (pg/mL)
APS + GS (n = 41)	50.18 ± 9.57	31.52 ± 5.33	18.65 ± 6.37	1.69 ± 0.21	3.30 ± 0.83	12.64 ± 4.90
GS regimen (n = 56)	44.06 ± 8.55	26.01 ± 7.83	18.06 ± 3.80	1.44 ± 0.21	2.67 ± 0.51	11.55 ± 3.70
t value	3.307	3.886	0.576	5.852	4.581	1.253
P value	0.001	0.000	0.566	0.000	0.000	0.213

APS: Astragalus polysaccharide; GS: Gemcitabine plus tegafur gimeracil oteracil potassium capsule (S-1); IFN-γ: Interferon-γ; IL-2: Interleukin-2.

Table 4 Adverse reactions and traditional Chinese medicine syndrome scores, n (%)

	Leukopenia	Thrombocytopenia	Liver function damage	Fatigue	Thick greasy tongue coating	Weak pulse
APS + GS (n = 41)	7 (17.07)	4 (9.76)	6 (14.63)	13 (31.71)	6 (14.63)	3 (7.31)
GS regimen (n = 56)	21 (37.50)	16 (28.57)	22 (39.29)	34 (60.71)	18 (32.14)	14 (25.00)
χ2 value	4.810	5.120	7.005	7.974	3.897	5.068
P value	0.028	0.024	0.008	0.005	0.048	0.024

APS: Astragalus polysaccharide; GS: Gemcitabine plus tegafur gimeracil oteracil potassium capsule (S-1).