Abstract
Recent studies suggested that Traditional Chinese Medicine could play a beneficial role in conventional cancer treatment. The aim of this retrospective cohort study was to investigate the effect of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) combined with Western medicine on the survival of patients with colorectal cancer. A retrospective cohort study was conducted on patients with newly diagnosed colorectal cancer identified from the Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital Cancer Registry Database in 2004–2014. Combining with the medical records of the study hospital, patients were classified into CHM users and CHM nonusers. Kaplan–Meier analyses and Cox proportional hazards regression analyses were used to investigate the survival between CHM users and CHM nonusers. A total of 535 patients with colorectal cancer were included in the study with 147 of them were CHM users. The log-rank test for Kaplan–Meier survival curve revealed a statistically significant difference between the survival of CHM users and CHM nonusers (P=0.006). Results from multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that CHM use was significantly associated with better survival (adjusted hazard ratio = 0.54, 95% CI = 0.38 to 0.77). In addition, the CHM formulae Jia Wei Xiao Yao San, Zhi Bah Di Huang Wan, Ping Wei San, and Qui Pi Tang were significantly associated with better survival. In conclusion, findings from this retrospective cohort study indicated that integrated CHM and Western medicine could improve survival in patients with colorectal cancer. Additional research on integrating TCM with Western medicine to improve cancer survival is warranted.
Highlights
Colorectal cancer is a leading cause of cancer death worldwide and is the third leading cause of cancer mortality in Taiwan [1]
In this retrospective cohort study, significant survival benefits for patients with colorectal cancer receiving treatment of integrated Chinese and Western medicine compared with Western medicine alone was observed, among patients with stage III and IV cancer
Results from multivariate analysis, adjusting for cancer stage, surgery, and chemotherapy, showed that the hazards significantly decreased by 46% in Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) users compared with nonusers
Summary
Colorectal cancer is a leading cause of cancer death worldwide and is the third leading cause of cancer mortality in Taiwan [1]. The mainstream treatment of colorectal cancer is laparoscopic surgical resection for primary disease, but radiotherapy and chemotherapy are often required for metastatic disease [5]. In addition to Western medical treatments, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been used in the treatment of patients with cancer [6]. TCM has been reported to be able to alleviate chemotherapy nausea [7], reduce pain [8], improve the curative effect of cancer treatment, enhance quality of life, and reduce adverse events [9]. Research indicated that certain Chinese herbal medicines (CHM), such as Salvia
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