Conventional Treatment Integrated with Chinese Herbal Medicine Improves the Survival of Patients with Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

lker Solmaz

Department of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University Hospital, Taiwan

^*Correspondance to: Ilker Solmaz 

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Abstract:

Background: There is a lack of research to evaluate the effectiveness of Chinese Herbal Medicine (CHM) as an adjunct therapy in patients with advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC).Objective: The main objective of this study was to assess whether the advanced NSCLC patients treated by Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs), when combined with CHM, can improve the five-year survival rate compared to those treated by EGFR-TKIs alone.Methods: A nationwide population-based study of advanced NSCLC patients receiving EGRF-TKIs, combined with or without CHM treatment, was conducted in Taiwan. The study is based on information in the sub-dataset of the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) from 2000 to 2010, during which time a total of 14,244 patients were diagnosed with NSCLC. After selection of exclusion criteria and matching process, 2,616 NSCLC patients were included in the study. Statistical analysis was utilized to evaluate the differences in characteristic distribution, and to compare the survival rates between the CHM cohort and non-CHM cohort.Results: Patients with advanced NSCLC using CHM as an adjunct therapy exhibited a significantly improved survival rate [hazard ration (HR) =0.8; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.73-0.87, p value <0.001], compared with non-CHM users. Based on a survival analysis by Kaplan-Meier method, the 5-year survival rate of CHM users increased 4.9%, with the most notable difference being an increase of the 2-year survival rate by up to 12.75%. In addition to survival rate analysis, we provide the ten most used single herbs and herbal formulas prescribed for patients with advanced NSCLC.Conclusion: This nationwide retrospective cohort study provides evidence supporting CHM as an effective adjunct modality to ameliorate the side effects of target therapy and prolong the five-year survival rate of patients with advanced NSCLC.

Keywords:

Chinese herbal medicine; Non-small cell lung cancer; EGFR-TKIs; Retrospective cohort

Cite the Article:

Solmaz I. Conventional Treatment Integrated with Chinese Herbal Medicine Improves the Survival of Patients with Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer. Clin Oncol. 2018; 3: 1521.