Clinical observation of Yiqi Qingdu prescription on the treatment of intermediate-stage and advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effects of the Yiqi Qingdu prescription () on intermediate-stage and advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). METHODS: In total, 300 patients with intermediate-stage or advanced NSCLC were randomly and equally divided into three groups using computer-generated random numbers as follows: Western medicine (WM), Chinese medicine (CM), and integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine (IM). After 3 months of treatment, the overall response rate (ORR); disease control rate (DCR); symptom score (SS); Karnofsky performance status (KPS); adverse event score; counts of CD3 + , CD4 + , and CD8 + cells; CD4 + /CD8 + ratio; and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) level were compared among the groups. RESULTS: The ORRs were 30.36% , 20.24% , and 7.87% in the IM, CM, and WM groups, respectively, whereas the DCRs were 85%, 75%, and 73%, respectively. Compared to the CM group, the ORR was significantly higher in the WM and IM groups, whereas the DCR was significantly higher in the IM group (all P < 0.05). SS was obviously higher in the WM group than in the other two groups (both P < 0.01). KPS was significantly lower in the WM group after treatment (P = 0.005). The mean number of adverse events was significantly lower in the CM (2.2 ± 1.3) and IM (2.4 ± 1.3) groups than in the WM group (4.6 ± 1.7, both P < 0.05). CD3 + cell counts were significantly decreased in the WM group (P = 0.031). In the IM group, CD8+ cell counts were increased after treatment, whereas the CD4 + /CD8 + ratio was decreased (both P < 0.01). Compared with the WM group, CD3 + (P = 0.01), CD4 + (P = 0.044), and CD8 + (P = 0.009) cell counts were significantly higher in the IM group, whereas the CD4+ /CD8+ ratio was significantly lower (P = 0.011). Relative to the CM group, CD8 + cell counts were significantly higher (P = 0.001) and the CD4+ /CD8+ ratio was significantly lower in the IM group (P = 0.001). CEA levels were significantly increased in the CM group (P = 0.023). CONCLUSION: The Yiqi Qingdu prescription can improve the outcomes of WM in patients with NSCLC.