In Metastatic Non-small cell Lung Cancer Platinum-Based Treated Patients, Herbal Treatment Improves the Quality of Life. A Prospective Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

Abstract

Background: According to clinical experience, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) herbs added to platinum-based therapy (PBT) improve the Quality of Life (QOL) in metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients, but this must be prospectively validated.Patients and Methods: Based on clinical impressions regarding the effect of adding TCM herbs to platinum-based chemotherapy, we anticipated that 2 × 21 patients would be sufficient to obtain significant results with an α < 0.05 and power (1 - β) of 90%. To be on the safe side, we enrolled at least 28 patients in each group. In a prospective randomized controlled trial, 61 uniquely defined consecutive patients (PBT+PLACEBO, N = 32; PBT+TCM, N = 29) with stage IIIB-IV, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance scores (PS) = 0–1 and TCM syndrome combined Qi-Yin deficiency were enrolled. These 61 patients were selected from originally 154 consecutive stage IIIB-IV lung cancer patients in the enrollment period. Patients were hospitalized and strictly controlled/surveyed during the entire 2-month treatment period, to guarantee use of or abstinence from TCM herbal and placebo fluids. Occurrence of nausea-vomiting, QOL by Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Lung (FACT-L) scales and changes in ECOG “improved and stable rates” were compared before and after two treatment cycles.Results: Before treatment, the clinico-pathologic and QOL features in PBT+PLACEBO and PBT+TCM patients did not differ (P > 0.10). The only side effects attributed by some of the patients to the TCM herbs were transient, mild gastric/abdominal heaviness in the first 2 weeks, but these also occurred amongst the PBT+PLACEBO patients (17 and 13%, P > 0.10). The incidence rates of nausea during treatment were 17% in PBT+TCM versus 75% in PBT+PLACEBO; vomiting rates were 14 and 56% (P < 0.0001 and 0.002). Moreover, ECOG “improved and stable rates” were 90% in the PBT+TCM versus 69% in the PBT+PLACEBO group (P = 0.04). In PBT+TCM patients, FACT-L social/familial and functional subscales were better after 2 months’ treatment (P = 0.02 and 0.03). Contrarily, in PBT+PLACEBO patients, the QOL variables total score, physical and emotional subscales were worse after PBT treatment (P = 0.03, 0.0001, and 0.003).Conclusion: In stage IIIB-IV ECOG-PS = 0–1 NSCLC patients with Qi-Yin deficiency and platinum-based chemotherapy, adding TCM herbal medication improves the QOL. As this category of patients constitutes 40% of all metastatic NSCLCs, these results could have significant clinical impact.

Corylin increases the sensitivity of hepatocellular carcinoma cells to chemotherapy through long noncoding RNA RAD51-AS1-mediated inhibition of DNA repair

“…The use of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in the treatment of diseases has a long history in China 11 – 13 . Compared with Western medicine, TCM provides another effective treatment option with relatively mild side effects 14 – 16 . In recent years, relevant studies on the use of TCM in cancer treatment have gradually attracted attention.…”

Effects of progressive Orff vocal therapy on BODE index and quality of life in patients with low lung function after non-small cell lung cancer surgery

“…Developed by the Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke Medical Center in Chicago, the scale is the most widely used scale for evaluating the quality of life of NSCLC patients in the past 20 years. 16,17 The FACT-L version 4.0 used in this study is a Chinese version equivalent to 2000 Chinese finished by Wan Chonghua. It includes a common module consisting of a total of 34 items (physical status (8), social/ family status (8), relationship with doctors (3), emotional status (7), and functional status (8)) (i.e.…”

Network Pharmacology Revealed the mechanism of Platycodon grandiflorum in Lung Cancer Treatment

“…It has been proved that the adjuvant treatment of TCM is effective in improving the overall survival rate among lung cancer patients [5] . TCM is capable to enhance host immune response, reduce the adverse reactions of chemotherapy [6] , and improve the quality of life for patients [7] . A study to investigated the frequencies and patterns of TCM herbal treatment for lung cancer patients in Taiwan found that Platycodon grandi orum and Mai-Men-Dong-Tang (MMDT) were important TCM herbs by network analysis [8] , which suggests that, Platycodon grandi orum plays a signi cant role in the treatment of lung cancer patients [9] .…”