Trial Information

A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Parallel Study of the Clinical Effects of Ganoderma Lucidum (Ling Zhi) in Children With Cancer

Alternative and complementary medicine are widely used in treating children with cancers. A
population-based survey in British Columbia revealed that they were used by 42% of the
respondents. Among Chinese in Hong Kong, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is also widely
practiced. Some 60% of the population had consulted TCM practitioners at one time or
another. TCM use could be dated back to more than five thousand years ago, and written
records were available for over two thousand years. TCM is considered to be an integral
part of the Chinese culture. In our experience, TCM is believed to be commonly used to
'strengthen immunity and promote health' among local children with cancers, despite the lack
of well-designed study to prove its usefulness. Ganoderma lucidum (Ling Zhi) is a mushroom
long-used in China for a broad range of disorders. Its use is common in the general
population and among both adults and children with a wide range of malignancies. However,
there is no randomized controlled trial to support its clinical efficacy and safety.
Therefore, we conducted this clinical trial of Ganoderma lucidum (Ling Zhi) among Hong Kong
children with cancers.