Effect of yiqi bushen granule on the peripheral CD4+ CD8high T-lymphocyte and natural killer cell in patients with minimal residual leukemia / 中国中西医结合杂志

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the effect of Yiqi Bushen Granule (YBG) on CD4+ CD8high T lymphocyte in patients with minimal residual leukemia (MRL) and to probe its prognosis after treatment.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The changes of CD4+ CD8high T lymphocyte subgroup and natural killer (NK) cells in 36 patients (16 males and 20 females) received long-term (> 3 months) YBG therapy before and after treatment were analyzed using multi-parameter flow cytometry and controlled by those in 34 healthy persons (19 males and 15 females).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The 3-year and 5-year complete remission rates in MRL patients were 75.0% and 63.9%; their 3-year and 5-year survival rates were 80.5% and 72.2%, respectively; as compared with the baseline, the absolute value and percentage of CD4+ CD8high T lymphocyte and NK cells were all significantly raised after treatment (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>YBG could prolong the disease-free survival in MRL patients by way of regulating the immune function of organism, elevating the amount of CD4+ CD8high T lymphocyte and NK cells to kill or suppress the residual leukemic cell in body.</p>