Integrative tumor board: a case report and discussion from East-West Cancer Center.
OBJECTIVE
To introduce the application of wheel balance cancer therapy (WBCT) in cancer treatment through an intensive study of a representative patient.


METHODS
A 59-year-old, female patient who was a secondhand smoker and who carried no significant medical and family history was diagnosed with T1N0M1 (stage 4) lung adenocarcinoma. Immunohistochemistry was positive for thyroid transcription factor-1, CK7, cyclin D1, p53, and Ki-67 on both lung biopsy specimens. An open lobectomy with mediastinal nodal dissection followed. The patient was transferred to East-West Cancer Center (EWCC) suffering from exertional dyspnea (NYHA [New York Heart Association] grade 2) with thoracic pain and pain in both upper limbs because of the decreased ventilatory capacity and reduced exercise capacity after a pulmonary resection. She also complained of emotional stress. EWCC provided WBCT, a multimodality alternative protocol based on the theory of traditional oriental medicine. Physicians regularly monitored whether metastasis or recurrence existed through blood and radiation tests. Observations and dialogues with the patient were used to record the changes in symptoms such as thoracic pain, dyspnea, anxiety, and fear.


RESULTS
Treatments at EWCC led to a disease-free survival of 28 months without adjuvant chemotherapy. Neither metastasis nor recurrence occurred during this period. Exertional dyspnea recovered to NYHA grade 1. Other physical and psychological symptoms were alleviated.


CONCLUSIONS
This report suggests that WBCT may have the potential for extending life expectancy, controlling symptoms, and improving quality of life in cancer patients.
Park
Hyo-Min
HM
East-West Cancer Center, Dunsan Oriental Medical Hospital of Daejeon University, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
Kim
Seo-Yeon
SY
Jung
In-Chul
IC
Lee
Yeon-Weol
YW
Cho
Chong-Kwan
CK
Yoo
Hwa-Seung
HS
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D002173:Cancer Care Facilities; D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000379:methods*; D019033:Delivery of Health Care, Integrated / Q000379:methods; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D055670:Medicine, Korean Traditional; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011788:Quality of Life