Effect of Traditional Chinese Medicine Injection on Cancer-Related Fatigue: A Meta-Analysis Based on Existing Evidence

Background and Objective. Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is a common and painful side effect for cancer patients. The treatment of CRF by traditional Chinese medicine injection (TCMJ) is controversial. We conducted a meta-analysis and systematic review to evaluate the effect of TCMJ on CRF, with a view to providing some guidance for clinical application. Methods. We systematically searched randomized controlled studies reported through March 2020 in PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Web of Science, China Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang, and VIP databases. Two investigators independently screened the studies according to the predetermined criteria, extracted data, and evaluated the bias risk of the included studies, using RevMan5.3 software. Results. Twelve studies enrolling 1005 participants were included in this systematic review. We found that TCMJ could improve the clinical efficacy of CRF patients (RR = 1.24, 95% CI: 1.05–1.46, P=0.01), ameliorate fatigue status (RR = 1.44, 95% CI: 1.27–1.65, P