Objective: To observe the effect of staged Chinese herbal medicinal therapy 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 method, the 116 patients enrolled were assigned to the treated group (n = 60) and the control group (n = 56). The control group was treated by chemotherapy alone, while the treated group treated by chemotherapy combined with Chinese herbal medicine, i.e. Kangliu Zengxiao Decoction (KLZX) was administered in the chemotherapy stage, followed with Feiyanning Decoction (FYN) in the stage after ending the chemotherapy. The survival time, Karnofsky score, main clinical symptoms and adverse reactions, etc. were observed.
Results: The median survival time was 15.57 months in the treated group, which was higher than that in the control group (11.17 months, P< 0.01). The improvements in tumor related symptoms such as fatigue, dyspnea, etc. in the treated group were better than those in the control group (P <0.05). In addition, adverse reactions such as leucopenia, digestive reaction (such as nausea and vomiting) in the treated group were less than those in the control group (P <0.05).
Conclusion: Chinese herbal medicine combined with chemotherapy shows favorable effect in improving quality of life and prolonging survival time on patients with advanced NSCLC.