目前临床研究协调员（CRC）在完成高质量的临床试验中所扮演的角色越来越受到国内药物临床试验机构及药物申办者的广泛关注。作为临床试验过程中重要的一员，CRC承担着协调及管理临床试验项目的任务，具有“项目管理助手、后勤保障支持”的特点。四川大学华西医院国家药物临床试验机构在中医专业新药临床试验过程中，尝试配备CRC并在实际工作中取得了一定成效，同时也积累了实践经验。现就该机构中医专业新药临床试验过程中，CRC的运行机制和具体工作职责进行简要介绍，为各药物临床试验机构的建设和管理、药物临床试验的质量和整体水平的提高提供参考。
Objective To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) plus transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) compared with TACE alone, in the treatment of unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods The Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CANCERLIT, CBM, CNKI and VIP were searched electronically. Relevant journals and conference proceedings were also handsearched. The quality of included studies was assessed according to the criteria recommended by the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions, and meta-analyses were performed for homogeneous studies using The Cochrane Collaboration’s RevMan 4.2.10 software. Subgroup analyses by frequency of TACE (lt;3 or ≥3 times) were also performed. Results Thirty seven trials, all published in China, involving 2 653 participants were included. The quality of 2 studies was graded B (medium) and that of the other 35 was graded C (low). Meta-analyses showed that TCM plus TACE, compared with TACE alone, could significantly improve survival, tumor response (complete and partial), quality of life and clinical symptoms, and was also associated with a lower incidence of adverse reactions. Subgroup analyses indicated that, patients with less than three TACE had more significant improvement in survival and clinical symptoms, while patients with three or more TACE had more significant improvement in tumor response and quality of life. The incidence of adverse reactions was similar between these two different frequencies of TACE. Conclusions The treatment regimen of TCM plus TACE is superior to TACE alone in patients with unresectable HCC. As the existing data have a high risk of bias, the current evidence is insufficient to define the efficacy of the combination treatment, and further large-scale, high-quality randomized controlled trials are needed.