Sunkyu Choi¹, Jee Young Lee², En Hyung Kim^3,4, Shin Seong⁵, Hanbing Li⁶ , Wonnam Kim⁷

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the impact of Haejongdan (HJD), a modified Saireito, on the recovery of renal function in cancer patients. Methods: This retrospective study was conducted using data from Soram Korean Medicine Hospital, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Korea. A total of 166 patients with gastrointestinal, lung, breast, ovarian, thyroid and other cancers, who orally received HJD (5 g twice daily) between December 2019 and February 2021, were divided into normal kidney function (n = 120) and reduced kidney function (n = 46) groups. Comparisons were done based on the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) under 90 mL/min/1.73 m2. Glomerular filtration rate was estimated using CKD Epidemiology Collaboration equation (eGFR). Blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and chlorine levels were also determined. Results: Participants in the reduced kidney function group were older and had a higher baseline creatinine, BUN, chlorine and lower eGFR. The 6-month follow-up evaluation of renal function-related factors showed that most of the improvement in eGFR occurred in the reduced kidney function group. However, in normal kidney function group, eGFR trend was significantly unchanged throughout the study. In the reduced kidney function group, eGFR slope decreased before receiving HJD and increased significantly (p ≤ 0.0001) after receiving HJD. The hs-CRP level showed a decreasing tendency after receiving HJD (p = 0.0005). Conclusion: Haejongdan has some potential to prevent nephrotoxicity in patients with cancer, especially those who have Renal insufficiency (RI). Further randomized, controlled study is necessary to confirm the results