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An Integrated Chinese-Western Medical Treatment of Non-small Cell
Lung Cancer
Keywords: Chinese medicine, Chinese herbal medicine, oncology, non-small
cell lung cancer (NSCLC), radiation
Lung cancer
is the leading cancer killer in both men and women in the United
States, and smoking is the number
one cause of lung cancer.
Approximately 169,400 new cases of lung cancer and 154,900 deaths from
lung cancer occured in the US in 2002.1 There
are two major types of lung cancer: non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)
and small cell lung
cancer (SCLC). Non-small cell lung cancer is the more common of the
two, affecting up to 80% of those with lung cancer. This type of lung
cancer usually metastasizes to different parts of the body more slowly
than does small cell lung cancer.
Non-small cell lung cancer is further subdivided into squamous cell
carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, and large cell carcinoma, and its progression
is divided into
occult NSCLC and stages 0-IV NSCLC. Stage I means that the tumor is totally
contained within one lung. Stage Ia means that tumor has not started to invade
local structures in the lung, whereas a Ib tumor has. Stage II generally means
that there is local lymph node spread of the tumor. 'Local' lymph
nodes refer to lymph nodes on the same side of the chest as the affected lung.
As above, stage IIa refers to a tumor that has not invaded local structures
in the lung, whereas an IIb tumor has invaded local structures or has spread
to the chest wall, diaphragm, and other chest cavity structures. Stage III
tumors have lymph node involvement either in the mediastinum (the area between
the two lungs) or in the lymph nodes of the opposite lung. Stage IIIb generally
refers to a tumor that has lymph node involvement in the opposite lung or in
which the tumor has directly spread to the structures in the mediastinum, such
as the esophagus, heart, or blood vessels. Stage IV refers to a tumor that
has spread to another organ, such as the liver or adrenal gland, or to another
part of the lung.
Standard Western medical treatment of this type of lung cancer typically involves
some combination of surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. In general, the five-year
survival rate in Western medicine for stage I SNCLC is 70%. The five-year survival
rate of stage II, IIa, and IIb is 40%. For stage III, the five-year survival
rate is between 10-30%, and, for stage IV, there is a one-year survival rate
of 30% and a two-year survival rate of 10%.2
In China, it is currently believed that either Western or Chinese medicine
alone is not adequate for the treatment of cancer. While Western medicine is
very focused and powerful, its heroic treatments often have unacceptable levels
of side effects and adverse reactions. On the other hand, Chinese medicine
is more holistic and gentler, with few or no side effects, but it is too slow-acting
to effectively treat most malignancies. Therefore, in China, the integration
of Chinese and Western medicine has become routine and even standard for the
treatment of cancer. As the following clinical trial suggests, the integration
of Chinese and Western medicine in the treatment of cancer gets better therapeutic
effects than Western medicine alone and with fewer side effect. In issue #11,
2003 of the Hu Nan Zhong Yi Za Zhi (Hunan Journal of Chinese Medicine), Wo
An-jun of the Shaoyang Municipal Central Hospital published an article titled,
'A Summary of Treating 46 Cases of Non-small Cell Lung Cancer with Integrated
Chinese-Western Medicine.' This article appeared on page 2 of that journal,
and a summary of its main points is presented below.
Cohort description
There were a total of 92 cases of NSCLC enrolled in this comparative study.
These 92 patients were randomly divided into two groups, a treatment group
which received integrated Chinese-Western medicine and a comparison group
which only received Western medicine. In the treatment group, there were
28 males and 18 females with an average age of 56 years. The were four cases
who were stage IIa, 10 cases who were stage IIb, 20 cases who were stage
IIIa, and 12 cases who were IIIb. In the comparison group, there were 27
males and 19 females with an average age of 57. In this group, there were
five cases who were stage IIa, nine cases who were stage IIb, 19 cases who
were stage IIIa, and 13 cases who were stage IIIb. Therefore, in terms of
sex, age, and staging, there were no statistically significant differences
between these two groups. Further, all 92 cases were seen as in-patients
in the same hospital between June 1994 and August 1998. All were diagnosed
with SNCLC via biopsy, and a combination of chest X-ray, CT scan, MRI, and
ultasonography ruled out any other serious internal medical condition. All
the patients were 70 years old or less and had a Karnovsky Scale rating of
70 points or more. None had a prior history of any other cancer.
Treatment method
The members of the comparison group all received radiation therapy one time
per day for five days per week, for a total of 6-7 weeks. The members of
the treatment group received the same radiation regimen along with the following
basic Chinese medicinal formula: Radix Codonopsitis Pilosulae (Dang Shen),
20g, Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae (Bai Zhu), 15g, Sclerotium Poriae
Cocos (Fu Ling), 10, Radix Glycyrrhizae Uralensis (Gan Cao), 6g, Caulis Milletiae
Seu Spatholobi (Ji Xue Teng), 30g, Radix Angelicae Sinensis (Dang Gui), 12g,
Radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae (Dan Shen), 20g, Fructus Crataegi (Shan Zha),
10g, Rhizoma Curcumae Zedoariae (E Zhu), 10g, Radix Albus Paeoniae Lactiflorae
(Bai Shao), 20g, Buthus Martensis (Quan Xie), 3g, Scolopendra Subspinipes
(Wu Gong), 3 strips, Herba Houttuyniae Cordatae Cum Radice (Yu Xing Cao),
20g, Herba Scutellariae Barbatae (Ban Zhi Lian), 15g, Radix Paridis Polyphyllae
(Yi Zhi Hua), 15g, Radix Astragali Membranacei (Huang Qi), 15g, and powdered
Radix Pseudoginseng (San Qi), 3g. If there was phlegm dampness, Rhizoma Pinelliae
Ternatae (Ban Xia), Bulbus Fritillariae Thunbergii (Zhe Bei Mu), Fructus
Trichosanthis Kirlowii (Gua Lou), and Pericarpium Citri Reticulatae (Chen
Pi) were added. If there was phlegm heat, Radix Scutellariae Baicalensis
(Huang Qin) and Cortex Radicis Mori Albi (Sang Bai Pi) were added. If there
was hemoptysis, Herba Agrimoniae Pilosae (Xian He Cao), Rhizoma Imperatae
Cylindricae (Bai Mao Gen), and Radix Rubiae Cordifoliae (Qian Cao Gen) were
added. If there was yin vacuity with a dry thorat and constipation, Bulbus
Lilii (Bai He), Radix Glehniae Littoralis (Sha Shen), Tuber Asparagi Cochinensis
(Tian Men Dong), Tuber Ophiopogonis Japonici (Mai Men Dong), and Radix Trichosanthis
Kirlowii (Tian Hua Fen) were added. If there was blood astasis, Nidus Vespae
(Lu Feng Fang) and Carapax Amydae Sinensis (Bie Jia) were added. One packet
of these medicinals was decocted in water and administered hot orally in
three divided doses per day, morning, noon, and night.
Study outcomes
Complete remission of symptoms was defined as complete disappearance of the
cancer. Partial remission meant that the cancer decreased in size by 50%
or more. No remission meant that the cancer receded less than 50% in size
or grew by 25%. Progression of disease meant that the cancer grew by more
than 25% or arose some place else. Based on these criteria, in the treatment
group, 11 cases (23.9%) experienced complete remission, 30 cases (65.2%)
achieved a partial remission, and five cases (10.9%) experienced either no
remission or progression of disease. Therefore, the total percentage of patients
in the treatment group who achieved either complete or partial remission
was 89.1%. In the comparison group, seven cases (15.2%) achieved complete
remission, 26 (65.5&) experienced partial remission, and 13 (28.3) experienced
no remission or progression of the disease. That meant that 71.1% of the
comparison group experienced either complete or partial remission. Further,
two-year survival rate, three-year survival rate, and local control rate
were 52.2%, 28.3%, 47.8%, and 37% respectively in the treatment group but
only 23.9%, 13%, 26.7%, and 8.7% respectively in the comparison group. And
finally, the rates of radiation-induced esophagitis, bronchitis, and pneumonitis
were markedly lower in the treatment group than the comparison group. Based
on these findings, it was the author's conclusion that treatment with
Chinese medicinals based on pattern discrimination along with standard radiation
therapy can achieve significantly better short-term survival rates and better
local control of tumors with less side effects than radiation alone.
Discussion
According to Dr. Wo, lung cancer is due to a righteous qi insufficiency with
qi and blood depletion and vacuity plus the external invasion of evils prompting
the accumulation of phlegm, dampness, toxins, and stasis within the lungs.
Therefore, the qi mechanism's upbearing and downbearing loses its
regulation, diffusion and depuration lose their duty, and the water passageways
are no longer freely flowing. The vessels and network vessels become obstructed
by blood stasis, and static blood and phlegm bind together to form the accumulation
lumps. Dr. Wo also says that radiation therapy easily causes damage and detriment
to fluids and humors. Thus, he believes that the general principle for treating
lung cancer with Chinese medicine should be to support the righteous and
combat the cancer by boosting the qi and nourishing the blood at the same
time as dispelling stasis and resolving toxins, softening the hard and scattering
binding, engendering fluids and moistening dryness, and using medicinals
for these purposes which are empirically known to combat cancer. Examples
of specifically anti-cancer medicinals within the above protocol include
Herba Houttuyniae Cordatae Cum Radice (Yu Xing Cao), Herba Scutellariae Barbatae
(Ban Zhi Lian), and Radix Paridis Polyphyllae (Yi Zhi Hua).
While using radiation alone as the Western medical treatment of stage II NSCLC
is not considered standard in North America,3 I nevertheless believe that the
above study can serve as a model for the integration of these two medicines
in the treatment of lung cancer. Similar published protocols exist for combining
Chinese herbal medicine with surgery and chemotherapy. Therefore, an integrated
Chinese-Western medical treatment plan based on previous clinical research
can be crafted for virtually all patients with lung cancer.
Copyright © Blue Poppy Press, 2004. All rights
reserved.
References
1. www.lungusa.org/diseases/lungcanc.html
2. www.healthtalk.com/otherconditions/talks/edition39/page02.cfm
(Now: http://www.everydayhealth.com/health-center/lung-cancer-survival-rates-info.aspx)
3. Radiation therapy may be used to treat stage II patients who cannot
have surgery because they have other medical problems. Stage III patients
may be treated with radiation alone or with surgery and radiation,
chemotherapy and radiation, or chemotherapy alone.
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