Efficacy and safety of Yunxiangjing derived from Chinese herbal medicine administered as an enema in the management of acute radiation-induced proctitis in patients with pelvic malignancy

OBJECTIVE： To assess the efficacy and safety of Yunxiangjing （YXJ）, derived from Chinese herbal medicine, in the management of acute radiation-induced proctitis （ARIP） in patients with pelvic malignancy. METHODS： Forty-eight patients with grade 2 ARIP were administered YXJ as an enema （I ： 30 dilution） for 2 weeks and followed up for 2 years. All were a sessed for response and ARIP grade. Quality of life （QOL） was assessed with the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-Core 30. RESULTS： Of the 48 patients, six （12.5%） achieved complete remission of ARIP and 28 （58.3%） showed a decrease from grade 2 to grade 1 ARIR No patient experienced a grade 〉3 toxicity. At the end of radio- therapy, patients showed significant improvements in QOL （P 〈 0.05）. Two years after treatment, 46 patients showed no late toxicity, with only two experiencing grade 1 late toxicity. CONCLUSION; YXJ can be used as an enema to manage acute radiation-induced proctitis in cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy. These findings suggest that YXJ enema may be an alternative treatment of ARIP.