Treatment of advanced non-small-cell lung cancer with Chinese herbal medicine by stages combined with chemotherapy

• Published in: Journal of cancer research and clinical oncology 2011-07, Vol.137 (7), p.1117-1122
• Main Authors: Xu, Zhen Ye, Jin, Chang Juan, Zhou, Cai Cun, Wang, Zhong Qi, Zhou, Wei Dong, Deng, Hai Bin, Zhang, Ming, Su, Wan, Cai, Xiao Yue
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adenocarcinoma - drug therapy; Adenocarcinoma - pathology; Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Antineoplastic agents; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols - therapeutic use; Biological and medical sciences; Cancer Research; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung - drug therapy; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung - pathology; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - drug therapy; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - pathology; Case-Control Studies; Chemotherapy; Cisplatin - administration & dosage; Drug Therapy, Combination; Drugs, Chinese Herbal - therapeutic use; Female; Hematology; Herbal medicine; Humans; Internal Medicine; Lung cancer; Lung Neoplasms - drug therapy; Lung Neoplasms - pathology; Male; Medical sciences; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Neoplasm Staging; Oncology; Original Paper; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Pneumology; Prospective Studies; Survival Rate; Treatment Outcome; Tumors of the respiratory system and mediastinum; Vinblastine - administration & dosage; Vinblastine - analogs & derivatives; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0171-5216; 1432-1335
• DOI: 10.1007/s00432-011-0975-3

Purpose To observe the effect of Chinese herbal medicine by stages combined with chemotherapy in treating patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) of stage III or IV. Methods Adopting prospective, randomized, controlled, multi-centered trial design, 121 patients enrolled were assigned to the treatment group ( n  = 65) and the control group ( n  = 56). All the patients were randomized to receive chemotherapy alone or chemotherapy and Chinese herbal medicine combined (Kangliuzengxiao decoction during chemotherapy and Feiyanning decoction after chemotherapy). The main outcome measures were survival time, Karnofsky score, main clinical symptoms, and adverse reactions. Results Five patients discontinued from the trial due to oral administration of Iressa after disease progression or other reasons, and 116 patients were evaluable for clinical efficacy with 63 in the treatment group and 53 in the control group. The overall response rate were 15.87% vs. 7.55% ( P  = 0.170), and the disease control rate were 85.71% vs. 71.70% in the treatment and control group ( P  = 0.063), respectively. The median survival time was 16.17 months vs. 12.00 months in the treatment and control group ( P  = 0.165), respectively. In addition, adverse reactions such as leucopenia in the treatment group were less than those in the control group ( P  = 0.039). Conclusions Chinese herbal medicine combined with chemotherapy showed favorable effect in improving quality of life and prolonging survival time on patients with advanced NSCLC.