Advanced Cancer Cases Treated With Cultivated Wild Ginseng Phamacopuncture

Abstract

After administering cultivated wild ginseng pharmacopuncture (CWGP) to advanced cancer patients, the response and survival rate were evaluated. This prospective observational pilot study of CWGP was conducted at the East-West Cancer Center of Daejeon University, Dunsan Oriental Hospital from August 2007 to June 2008. Seven patients were recruited for this study. One cycle of treatment consisted of intravenous infusion of CWGP (20 mL/day) for 2 weeks with an expected treatment duration of four cycles (60 days, 2 months). Blood tests were conducted every cycle and computed tomography was performed every second cycle as follow-up. Overall survival was measured from initial administration of CWGP to death. We used the international standards provided by the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors for measuring response rate and Kaplan-Meier analysis to determine statistical significance. Seven patients received a total of 55 cycles (1 with 1 cycle, 2 with 2 cycles, 1 with 3 cycles, 2 with 13 cycles, 1 with 20 cycles). One-year survival rate was 57.1%, and the median survival time was 544 days. Among these patients, two non-small cell lung carcinoma patients and one advanced gastric adenocarcinoma patient showed stable disease. Two patients dropped out after the first and second cycles of treatment without receiving a new computed tomography scan. Two patients showed progressive disease. Although a further large scale study is necessary, CWGP showed potential as an effective treatment for two non-small cell lung carcinoma patients and one advanced gastric carcinoma patient.