A Clinical Study of Chaihu Shugan Powder in the Treatment of Malignant Tumor Patients with Depression

[Purpose] To evaluate the efficacy and the security of Chaihu Shugan powder compared with fluoxetine in the treatment of malignant tumor patients with depression. [Methods] Ninety cancer patients with depression were collected,and randomly divided into control group (n=45) and treatment group (n=45).Control group was given fluoxetine (20mg/d). The treatment group received Chaihu Shugan,decoction,1d/stuff,treatment for 6 weeks. The changes of the HAMD score were observed before and after one,three,six weeks' treatment,and the adverse reaction was recorded in the end of the study. [Results] Compared with before treatment,the HAMD score was markedly decreased in treatment group after one weeks' treatment[(20.78±1.24) vs (24.87 ±5.12),P 0.05],and even more significantly after three and six weeks' treatment [(16.34±3.67) vs (24.87±5.21),P0.05],[(11.78±3.21) vs (24.87±5.12),P0.01]. The HAMD score in control group also decreased after treated for 3 weeks compared with before treatment [(18.77±2.54) vs (25.67±4.34),P0.05]. Patients treated by Chaihu Shugan after 6 weeks of treatment,the total efficiency was 84.4%. Compared with the control group (77.8%),the difference was statistically significant (P0.05). Chaihu Shugan significantly lower incidence of adverse reactions (17.7% vs 44.4%,P0.05).[Conclusion] Chaihu Shugan powder significantly alleviate the depression in patients with malignant tumor. It has better efficacy and safety than fluoxetine.