Traditional Chinese Medicine May Prolong Disease-Free Survival in Stage IIIA Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

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Researchers at Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine have conducted a study on the impact of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) therapy on postoperative recurrence and metastasis prevention in patients with stage IIIA non-small cell lung cancer. The study analyzed real-world data from patients who underwent radical surgery between January 2016 and January 2022. The results showed that patients who received TCM therapy in addition to adjuvant chemotherapy or radiotherapy had a significantly longer median disease-free survival (DFS) compared to those who only received adjuvant chemotherapy or radiotherapy.

Key Takeaways:

  • The study included a total of 700 patients, with 340 in the exposed group (receiving TCM therapy) and 360 in the non-exposed group (receiving only adjuvant chemotherapy or radiotherapy).
  • After propensity score matching, the exposed group demonstrated a significantly longer median DFS compared to the non-exposed group (32.0 months [95% CI 24.0-38.0] vs. 17.0 months [95% CI 15.0-20.0], p < 0.001).
  • The study concluded that TCM therapy focused on strengthening the body may prolong DFS and improve disease-free survival rates (DFSR) in postoperative stage IIIA NSCLC patients.
  • The study suggests that further large-scale prospective studies are needed to validate these findings.
  • The research team included Ruoyan Qin, Yi Jiang, Liping Shen, Jie Qian, Yanlan Kang, Rui Fan, and Lingshuang Liu from Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Statistics:

  • 700 patients were included in the study.
  • 340 patients were in the exposed group, receiving TCM therapy.
  • 360 patients were in the non-exposed group, receiving only adjuvant chemotherapy or radiotherapy.
  • The exposed group had a median DFS of 32.0 months (95% CI 24.0-38.0).
  • The non-exposed group had a median DFS of 17.0 months (95% CI 15.0-20.0).
  • The p-value for the comparison between the two groups was < 0.001.

Sources:

  • "Impact of Traditional Chinese Medicine therapy focused on strengthening the body on postoperative recurrence and metastasis prevention in stage IIIA non-small cell lung cancer: a real-world retrospective cohort study" (Chinese Medicine, 2025,20(1):1-13)
  • BMC (publisher for Chinese Medicine)
  • Chinese Medicine (journal) - http://cmjournal.biomedcentral.com
  • DOI: 10.1186/s13020-025-01195-x
  • NewsRx LLC (cited in the original news report)