COVID-19 Research Reveals Potential Benefits of Long-Term Traditional Chinese Medicine Use in Cancer Patients

Cancer patients who used traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for a long period showed improved COVID-19 outcomes compared to those who did not use TCM. A study conducted by researchers from the First Affiliated Hospital in Shanghai, China, found that patients who used TCM had a lower infection rate and reported fewer post-COVID-19 symptoms at 3 months post-infection.

Key Takeaways:

• The study, which involved 996 cancer patients, found that those who used TCM for a long period had a lower infection rate (75.8% vs. 84.1% in the non-TCM group, p = 0.002).
• The TCM group reported significantly lower levels of post-COVID-19 symptoms at 3 months post-infection, with 98.0% of the TCM group reporting no fatigue compared to 91.7% in the non-TCM group.
• The study concluded that there was a potential association between long-term TCM use and improved COVID-19 outcomes among cancer patients.
• Researchers used an anonymous online questionnaire to collect data from cancer patients who had used TCM and those who had not, from March 31 to April 30, 2023.
• The study suggests that further research is essential to validate these findings and decipher the underlying mechanisms.

Statistics:

• 996 cancer patients participated in the study, with 607 in the TCM group and 389 in the non-TCM group.
• The infection rate was significantly lower in the TCM group (75.8%) compared to the non-TCM group (84.1%, p = 0.002).
• 98.0% of the TCM group reported no fatigue at 3 months post-infection, compared to 91.7% in the non-TCM group.

Sources:

• Impact of traditional Chinese medicine on the prognosis of COVID-19 in cancer patients: a questionnaire-based survey. Journal of Infection in Developing Countries, 2025,19(06).
• https://doi-org.sdpl.idm.oclc.org/10.3855/jidc.20064 (free version of the journal article).
• The Journal of Infection in Developing Countries (publisher).