Prospective randomized crossover study of effects of traditional Japanese herbal medicine rikkunshito on food intake and plasma acylated ghrelin levels in patients with esophageal cancer administered with cisplatin-based chemotherapy.

133Background: Cisplatin (CDDP) is an important chemotherapeutic drug for treating esophageal cancer that often induces chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV). Acylated ghrelin (AG) is an orexigenic gut hormone that can alleviate CINV. We evaluated whether rikkunshito (RKT), a traditional Japanese herbal medicine with an orexigenic effect, can improve CINV-induced anorexia and increase levels of plasma AG in patients with esophageal cancer administered with CDDP-based chemotherapy. Methods: This prospective randomized crossover study included 20 patients with esophageal cancer who were administered with CDDP-based chemotherapy between July 2013 and March 2016. Tenof them were assigned to group A (1st course with 7.5 g/day RKT on days 1 - 14; 2nd course without RKT [control]) and 10 were assigned to group B (1st course without RKT [control]; 2nd course with RKT). Food intake and levels of plasma AG (fmol/mL) were compared between the control and RKT courses. Results: Data from 18 of the patients w...