| Long-Term Survival of Patients with Lung Cancer Treated by Traditional Korean Medicine Combined with Western Treatment: Report of Two Cases |
| Ji-young Kang, Jun-young Kim, Chang-gue Son, Jung-hyo Cho |
| Dept. of Internal Medicine, College of Korean Medicine, Dae-Jeon University |
| Correspondence |
Jung-hyo Cho ,Tel: +82-42-229-6806, Fax: +82-42-257-6398, Email: choajoa@dju.kr
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Received: February 4, 2015, Accepted: March 26, 2015, Published online: March 30, 2015. |
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| ABSTRACT |
Objectives:
To evaluate the long-term survival effects of traditional Korean medicine (TKM) on refractory metastatic lung cancer and small cell lung cancer (SCLC), which have historically poor survival rates.
Methods:
A retrospective study was conducted using the medical records of two patients in Daejeon University hospital. The first patient, with SCLC, was treated from January 2000 to December 2009 and the other, with metastatic pulmonary cancer from primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), was treated from September 2004 to February 2014. The patients were treated with herbal medicines at one-month intervals. During hospitalization, acupuncture and indirect moxibustion were performed concurrent with the administration of Western therapy. Treatment efficacy was assessed monthly using chest radiography, chest computed tomography, and laboratory examination data, and by measuring patient performance status.
Results:
Both patients exhibited a stable disease course for more than 9 years after the initial diagnosis of intractable lung cancer, suggesting that their disease status was controlled by TKM.
Conclusions:
We suggest that a combination of TKM with conventional Western therapy for refractory lung cancer patients is effective in controlling various symptoms related to lung cancer and improving quality of life, and may potentially prolong overall survival. |
| Key words:
lung cancer, long-term survival, traditional Korean medicine (TKM) |
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