Clinical study on treating advanced lung cancer in elderly with integrated traditional Chinese and western medicine

Guo Yinghua. Shanghai Medical & Pharmaceutical Journal 2000-08 DOI? cnki:ISSN:1006-1533.0.2000-08-020
To compare the clinical efficacies of traditional Chinese medicine and/or chemotherapy in treating advanced lung cancer in elderly patients. Methods: One hundred and four aged patients with advanced lung cancer were randomly divided into three groups: the chemotherapy group(n=22) ,the traditional Chinese medicine group(n=34)and the combined therapy group (n = 48). The regimen of chemotherapy was MVP,each patient received one to four courses. The traditional Chinese medicine used decoction of herbs aimed at replenishing Qi and nourishing Yin, softening and dissipating hard nodes. The course of traditional Chinese medicine lasted two months. Results:The global effective rate of the combined therapy group (83. 3%) was superior to the traditional Chinese medicine group(76. 5%) ,and the effective rate of the latter group was again superior to that of chemotherapy group(63. 6%). The rates of weight gain or no weight loss in both traditional Chinese medicine group and the combined group were signficantly higher than that of the chemotherapy group. Conclusion: The efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine together with chemotherapy in the treatment of advanced lung cancer in elderly was superior to traditional Chinese medicine alone or chemotherapy alone, and the combination possessed the advantages of decreasing the side effects of chemotherapy and increasing the quality of life of the patients.
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