Combination therapy with lentinan improves outcomes in patients with esophageal carcinoma

Authors: Ji-Lian Wang, Zheng Bi, Jian-Wen Zou, and Xiao-Meng Gu

Journal: Molecular Medicine Reports

Study Design: Randomized controlled trial

Participants: 50 patients with esophageal carcinoma (EC)

Intervention: The patients were divided into two groups:

• Control group (n=25): Received the chemotherapeutic agent tegafur (1,000 mg/day for 5 days)
• Experimental group (n=25): Received the same dosage of tegafur combined with 1 mg lentinan diluted in 250 ml normal saline every other day. Treatment occurred in 2 courses over 21 days.

Outcome Measures:

• General condition (Karnofsky performance scale; KPS score)
• Symptoms and signs (Zubrod-ECOG-WHO score; ZPS score)
• Quality of life (QOL scale)
• Clinical efficacy (complete remission, partial remission, improvement, disease stability, and disease progression)
• Serum levels of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-2, IL-6, IL-12, IL-4, IL-5, and IL-10)

Summary: The study aimed to investigate the clinical efficacy of combining lentinan with traditional chemotherapy in individuals with esophageal carcinoma (EC), with a particular focus on its effect on immune function. The results showed that the combination of lentinan and chemotherapy led to greater improvements in the general condition, symptoms and signs, and quality of life of patients with EC compared to chemotherapy alone. Additionally, the clinical efficacy was significantly better in the combination therapy group after two courses of treatment. The study also found that serum levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-2, IL-6, and IL-12) increased, while levels of anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-4, IL-5, and IL-10) decreased in both groups after treatment, with these changes being more pronounced in the combination therapy group. The study concluded that the addition of lentinan to the chemotherapy regimen improves the general condition, symptoms and signs, and quality of life of patients with EC, particularly by enhancing the patient’s immune function.