<正> Earthworm capsule is an extract from earthworm made in our laboratory.From1986 to 1989

486 patients with carcinoma of esophagus or lung were randomly divided into 2groups

one group received radiotherapy alone（control group）and the other radiotherapycombined with earthworm capsules（treatment group）.All cases were diagnosedpathologically or cytologically.In a two-month treatment course

earthworm capsuleswere given orally twice a day

2～3 capsules each time

each capsule containing 60 mg ofthe extract.Compared with the control group

the CR（complete remission）rate andCR+PR（partial remission）rate in patients with carcinoma of esophagus treated byradiotherapy in combination with earthworm capsule increased 9.7%（P<0.01） and 9.6%（P<0.05）

while in patients with carcinoma of lung

they increased 10.6%（P<0.05）and13.5%（P<0.05）

respectively.The earthworm capsule caused irritation in the alimentarytract

the patients displaying slight nausea and vomiting（16.7% in thecombination treatment group and 10.0% in the control group）.However

these side ef-fects could be alleviated when capsules were taken after meal or with honey concomitantly.No deleterious effects on the heart

liver

kidney

skin

hematopoietic or nervous systemwere seen.