Objective: To explore the effect of applying Chinese herbal medicine according to Syndrome Differentiation of TCM combined with synchronous radio- and chemotherapy (combination therapy) in treating advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
Methods: The 56 patients in the group A were treated with combination therapy, and the 44 patients in the group B treated with synchronous radio- and chemotherapy, while the 34 patients in the group C treated with non-synchronous radio- and chemotherapy. The efficacy of treatment in the three groups were observed and compared.
Results: The immediate effective rate in the A, B, C groups was 87.5%, 84.1% and 55.9% respectively, that in the group A and B was better than that in the group C (P < 0.01). The median survival time in the three groups was 16.4, 11.8 and 10.6 months respectively. The 2-year and 3-year survival rate in the group A were markedly higher than those in the group B (P < 0.05), moreover, the clinical symptoms, Karnovsky scoring and immune function were obviously improved in the group A (P < 0.05, P < 0.01).
Conclusion: Effect of the combination therapy is superior to that of synchronous radio- and chemotherapy alone in improving immune function, elevating quality of life and prolongating survival time of patients with NSCLC.