Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 26, 2025
Endobronchial Ultrasound-guided Intratumoral Injection of Cisplatin for the Treatment of Isolated Mediastinal Recurrence of Lung Cancer
Published on: February 12, 2017
A potential treatment option for advanced non-small cell lung cancer: Three cases
Sookyung Lee1, Sora Park2, Ha Yeon Lee3
1Department of Clinical Oncology, College of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Korea.
Objective:
Recent progress in targeted therapy and immunotherapy has reduced the mortality of advanced-stage patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, despite advances in treatment, only some patients are eligible for and benefit from genome-targeted therapy, while few patients are ineligible for genome-driven therapy or have limited treatment options due to performance status, comorbidity, and adverse events or rejection of chemotherapy.
Clinical Features And Outcomes:
We report the cases of three patients with advanced NSCLC who were not available to continue conventional anticancer therapy, who were able to maintain progression-free survival (PFS) or disease-free survival (DFS), and who have shown symptom amelioration after treatment with herbal Medicine. Patients were managed only with herbal medicines according to their disease status and symptoms, without conventional anticancer therapy. Two patients with metastatic NSCLC maintained PFS for 19 and 20 months after the discontinuation of chemotherapy, respectively. A patient with locally advanced NSCLC showed no evidence of recurrence for more than 5 years despite an increase in squamous cell carcinoma antigens. These patients had considerable clinical outcomes to maintain relatively long PFS and DFS.
Conclusion:
This study demonstrates the potential treatment option of herbal medicine in inhibiting tumor progression and prolonging PFS and DFS in patients with advanced NSCLC.
Insights
This study shows herbal medicine can help advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients maintain progression-free survival (PFS) and disease-free survival (DFS) when conventional therapies are not an option.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Integrative Medicine
- Herbal Medicine Research
Background:
- Advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) presents treatment challenges, with many patients ineligible for or intolerant to conventional therapies like targeted therapy and chemotherapy.
- Despite advances, a subset of NSCLC patients face limited options due to performance status, comorbidities, or adverse events.
- Novel therapeutic strategies are needed to improve outcomes for these patients.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy of herbal medicine as a standalone treatment for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in patients unable to receive conventional therapy.
- To assess the impact of herbal medicine on progression-free survival (PFS) and disease-free survival (DFS) in this patient cohort.
- To document symptom amelioration and clinical outcomes in advanced NSCLC patients treated with herbal medicine.
Main Methods:
- Case series reporting on three patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
- Patients received exclusively herbal medicine treatment tailored to their disease status and symptoms.
- Conventional anticancer therapies were discontinued or not initiated for these patients.
Main Results:
- Two patients with metastatic NSCLC achieved progression-free survival (PFS) of 19 and 20 months after discontinuing chemotherapy.
- One patient with locally advanced NSCLC showed no evidence of recurrence for over 5 years, maintaining disease-free survival (DFS).
- Patients experienced symptom amelioration and maintained PFS/DFS, demonstrating considerable clinical benefits from herbal medicine.
Conclusions:
- Herbal medicine presents a potential treatment option for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
- This approach may inhibit tumor progression and prolong progression-free survival (PFS) and disease-free survival (DFS).
- Herbal medicine offers a viable alternative for NSCLC patients with limited conventional treatment options.
More Related Videos
07:59Author Spotlight: Advancements in Molecular Biomarker Testing for Non-Squamous Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
Published on: September 8, 2023
09:38Establishment and Characterization of Three Afatinib-resistant Lung Adenocarcinoma PC-9 Cell Lines Developed with Increasing Doses of Afatinib
Published on: June 26, 2019
Related Concept Videos
02:57Targeted Cancer Therapies
There are several types of targeted therapies against...
02:50Combination Therapies and Personalized Medicine
The combination of the drug acetazolamide and sulforaphane is a good example of combination therapy to treat cancer. The cells in the interior of a large tumor often die due to the hypoxic and...
02:49Cancer Therapies
However, cancer treatments can pose several challenges, as therapies used to kill cancer cells are generally also toxic to normal cells. Moreover, cancer cells mutate rapidly and can develop resistance to chemical agents or radiation therapy. Besides, all types of cancer cells may not respond to the same therapy. Some cancer cells respond to one...
01:27Tumor Immunotherapy