Frontiers in pharmacology
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Frontiers in pharmacology · Jan 2017
In Metastatic Non-small cell Lung Cancer Platinum-Based Treated Patients, Herbal Treatment Improves the Quality of Life. A Prospective Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial.
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. ⋯ 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.