A clinical study on global TCM therapy in treating senile advanced non-small cell lung cancer / 中国结合医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To assess the clinical efficacy of global traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) therapy in treating senile advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), with the aim of seeking a standardized, rational and economical way to treat advanced NSCLC in old patients.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A retrospective analysis and comparison was carried out in 86 patients with senile advanced NSCLC, 44 treated by global TCM (TCM group) and 42 by chemotherapy (control group) through dynamical observation on related indexes including tumor size, quality of life and the survival time, as well as on the fee for medical service at various time points in the course of the treatment.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The changes of tumor size, score of clinical main symptoms and behavior condition (by ZPS scoring), as well as survival rates in the two groups at corresponding time points, were not different significantly (P>0.05). The mean survival time in the TCM group was 13.20+/-1.52 months and that in the chemotherapy group was 13.45+/-1.94 months, showing insignificant difference between them. However, the median survival time in the TCM group (12 months) was actually longer than that in the chemotherapy group (9 months, P<0.05). The mean daily expense and the mean expense (RMB yuan) for each patient in the TCM group were significantly lower than that in the control group, which was 180.73+/-93.21 vs 825.84+/-329.63 for the mean daily expense and 34077.21+/-14638.04 vs 58516.59+/-45429.76 for the mean expense for each patient (both P<0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Treatment of senile advanced NSCLC with TCM alone has its apparent superiority in stabilizing tumor focus, improving clinical symptoms, elevating quality of life and prolonging the survival time. TCM is also less expensive, making it a good alternative therapeutic approach for this specific group of people.</p>

Improvement of quality of life with Shenfu injection in non small cell lung cancer patients treated with gemcitabine plus cisplatin regimen / 中国结合医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the effect of Shenfu injection (SFI) in treating non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients on quality of life with gemcitabine (GEM) plus cisplatin (GP) regimen.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Thirty-four patients were ready to receive GP regimen chemotherapy for treating NSCLC disease, according to lot-drawing, they were divided into SFI pre-treatment group (18 cases) and SFI post-treatment group (16 cases). SFI pre-treatment group: During the first treatment course, chemotherapy was begun with SFI 60 ml, intravenous dripping on the 3rd day, once daily, consecutively for 10 days; on the 1st day, GP regimen (GEM 1250 mg/m(2), intravenous dripping, on the 1st and 8th day; cisplatin 70 mg/m(2) on the 2nd day; 21 days as one cycle) was carried out; in the second treatment course GP regimen was merely given to serve as the self-control. SFI post-treatment group: the medicament sequence order was reversed from that of pre-treatment group. Using dual international quality of life (QOL) scores, the effect of SFI on the patients' QOL was observed through randomized self pre- and post-crossover control.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The QOL in the 34 patients after being treated by SFI in combination with GP chemotherapy regimen in one group, and GP chemotherapy regimen alone in the other, was improved in different degrees, with significant difference (P < 0.01); comparison of SFI combined with GP chemotherapy regimen with GP chemotherapy alone showed that QOL in patients was significantly different (P < 0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>SFI could improve QOL in patients with NSCLC who were treated with GP regimen.</p>

Effect of combination of syndrome differentiation depending treatment and chemotherapy on prognostic factors in treating mid-late patients with non-small call lung cancer / 中国中西医结合杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the effect of combination of Syndrome Differentiation (SD) depending treatment and chemotherapy on prognostic factors in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>One hundred and twenty patients with NSCLC were randomly divided into the TCM group, the western medicine (WM) group and the combined TCM and WM (TCM-WM) group. Besides the conventional supporting and symptomatic treatment given to all the 3 groups, to the TCM group, Chinese drug medication according to patients' SD (intravenons injection, decoction or Xiaoji Decoction) was given, to the WM group chemorherapy was given, and to the TCM-WM group, all the treatment used in both TCM and WM group were given. The long-term efficacy was analyzed by Kaplan-Meier method, the 24 prognostic factors that influencing survival rate were analyzed by COX regression model multiple factors analysis to screen the risk factor and protective factor.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The median survival period in the TCM group was 285.00 +/- 17.92 days, in the WM group was 265.00 +/- 1.80 days, insignificant difference was found between them (P > 0.05), that in the TCM-WM group was 359.00 +/- 7.00 days, which was longer than that in the above two groups with significance (P < 0.05). The half-year and 1-year survival rates in the TCM group were 84.4% and 18.1%, in the WM group 82.5% and 20.6%, and in the TCM-WM group 92.5% and 42.7%. The 1-year survival rate in the TCM-WM group was higher than that in the TCM and WM group with significant difference (P < 0.05). Analysis on 24 prognostic factors indicated that there was significant difference (P < 0.05) in influence of such factors on survival rate as clinical stage, lymph node invasion, complications, TCM Syndrome typing, lactate dehydrogenase, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), CA199, Karnofsky scoring before treatment, therapeutic method, total scores of quality of life, stability of treatment, CD3+, etc. The former seven were the risk factors for prognosis of midlate NSCLC patients, and the latter 5 the protective factors.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>TCM-WM treatment could prolong patients' survival period, elevate the long-term survival rate, it could be taken as one of the best comprehensive therapies for mid-late NSCLC patients who have missed the opportunity of surgical resection.</p>