| Background Gastrointestinal symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, oral ulceration, diarrhea and constipation, are commonly induced during chemotherapy. Objective To assess the effectiveness and safety of Chinese herbal medicine [CHM] in alleviating chemotherapy-induced gastrointestinal symptoms in cancer patients Methods Randomized controlled trials assessing the therapeutic effects of CHM for chemotherapy-induced gastrointestinal symptoms were identified by searching Ovid SP and three Chinese databases. Data were extracted and checked by two reviewers. Main results Eighty-six randomized controlled trials involving 7076 cancer patients. Eighty-five studies were conducted and published in China. CHM were effective and safe for the management of chemotherapy-induced nausea, vomiting, oral ulceration, diarrhea and constipation. There was also an add-on effect for conventional medicine adjuvant with CHM. However, the results should be interpreted with caution as all included studies were of low quality. Conclusions Definite clinical recommendation for particular CHM intervention for chemotherapy-induced gastrointestinal symptoms cannot be made from this review, but the use of CHM for the enhancement of efficacy and reduction of adverse effect of conventional medicine for chemotherapy-induced nausea, vomiting, oral ulceration, diarrhea or constipation are highly implied. Therefore, further large scale and high quality randomized controlled trials on the same CHM intervention, if applicable, are suggested. |