Characteristics of Chinese herbal medicine usage and its effect on survival of lung cancer patients in Taiwan

Results

The CHM group was characterized by a longer follow up time and more cases of hyperlipidemia and liver cirrhosis. This group exhibited a lower mortality hazard ratio (0.48, 95% confidence interval [0.39–0.61], p < 0.001), after adjusting for comorbidities. The trend was also observed that the cumulative survival probability was higher in CHM than in non-CHM users (p < 0.0001, log rank test). Analysis of their CHM prescription pattern revealed that Bu-Zhong-Yi-Qi-Tang (BZYQT), Xiang-Sha-Liu-Jun-Zi-Tang (XSLJZT), and Bai-He-Gu-Jin-Tang (BHGJT); and Bei-Mu (BM), Xing-Ren (XR) and Ge-Gen (GG) were found to be the top three formulas and herbs, respectively. Among them, BM was the core CHM of the major cluster, and Jie-Geng (JG) and Mai-Men-Dong-Tang (MMDT) were important CHMs by CHM network analysis.

Conclusion

The use of CHM as an adjunctive therapy may reduce the mortality hazard ratio of lung cancer patients.