Astragalus

Astragalus membranaceous has been an important herd in traditional chinese medicine for over two thousand years.  It is also known as Huang Qi (Pin Ying). In vitro research on astragalus show this herb is able to stimulate the production and activity of immune cells, improve stress response, and inhibit the growth and invasion of cancer cells.

Several studies have shown that formulas containing astragalus help to:

• Reduce bone marrow and immune supression in patients receiving conventional cancer treatment 
• Improve energy levels of patients undergoing conventional cancer treatments

A large metanalysis review of astragalus use in patients with non-small cell lung cancer showed patients taking therapeutics containing astragalus had improved overall survival compared with patients who were not receiving astragalus therapy.

References:

1. Wu, T., Aj, M., Guanjian, L., & Gj, L. (2008). Chinese medical herbs for chemotherapy side effects in colorectal cancer patients ( Review ), (1).
2. Ben-Arye, E., Attias, S., Tadmor, T., & Schiff, E. (2010). Herbs in hemato-oncological care: an evidence-based review of data on efficacy, safety, and drug interactions. Leukemia & Lymphoma, 51(8), 1414–23. doi:10.3109/10428194.2010.487622
3. Liao, G.-S., Apaya, M. K., & Shyur, L.-F. (2013). Herbal medicine and acupuncture for breast cancer palliative care and adjuvant therapy. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine : eCAM, 2013, 437948. doi:10.1155/2013/437948
4. Chen, H.-W., Lin, I.-H., Chen, Y.-J., Chang, K.-H., Wu, M.-H., Su, W.-H., … Lai, Y.-L. (2012). A novel infusible botanically-derived drug, PG2, for cancer-related fatigue: a phase II double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled study. Clinical and Investigative Medicine. Médecine Clinique et Experimentale, 35(1), E1–11. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22309959
5. Cassileth, B. R., Rizvi, N., Deng, G., Yeung, K. S., Vickers, A., Guillen, S., … Kris, M. G. (2009). Safety and pharmacokinetic trial of docetaxel plus an Astragalus-based herbal formula for non-small cell lung cancer patients. Journal Of Chromatography, 67–71. doi:10.1007/s00280-009-1003-z
6. McCulloch, M., See, C., Shu, X., Broffman, M., Kramer, A., Fan, W., … Colford, J. M. (2006). Astragalus-based Chinese herbs and platinum-based chemotherapy for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer: meta-analysis of randomized trials. Journal of Clinical Oncology : Official Journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, 24(3), 419–30. doi:10.1200/JCO.2005.03.6392