Complementary Chinese herbal medicine therapy improves survival of patients with gastric cancer in Taiwan: A nationwide retrospective matched-cohort study.
BACKGROUND
Many patients with gastric cancer seek traditional medicine consultations in Asian countries. This study aimed to investigate the prescription of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) and its benefits for the patients with gastric cancer in Taiwan.


METHODS
From the Registry for Catastrophic Illness Patients Database, we included all patients with gastric cancer whose age at diagnosis was ≥18 from 1997 to 2010 in Taiwan. We used 1:1 frequency matching by age, sex, Charlson comorbidity score, treatment and index year to compare the CHM users and non-CHM users. We used the Cox regression model to compare the hazard ratios (HR) for the risk of mortality and the Kaplan-Meier curve for the survival time.


RESULTS
There was a total of 1333 patients in the CHM-cohort and 44786 patients in the non-CHM cohort. After matching, we compared 962 newly diagnosed CHM users and 962 non-CHM users. Adjusted HRs (aHR) were higher among patients of above 60-year-old group, with a Charlson Comorbidity Index score ≥2 before the index date, and those who need surgery combined with chemotherapy or radiotherapy. CHM users had a lower HR of mortality risk (adjusted HR: 0.55, 95% CI: 0.48-0.62). Compared to the non-CHM users, the aHR among CHM-users is 0.37 (95% CI:0.2-0.67) for those who used CHM more than 180 days annually. The Kaplan-Meier curve revealed that the survival probability was higher for complementary CHM-users. Bai-Hua-She-She-Cao (Herba Hedyotidis Diffusae) was the most commonly used single herb and Xiang-Sha-Liu-Jun-Zi-Tang was the most commonly used herbal formula among CHM prescriptions.


CONCLUSIONS
Complementary CHM improves the overall survival among patients with gastric cancer in Taiwan. Further ethnopharmacological investigations and clinical trials are required to validate the efficacy and safety.
Department of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan.
Kuo-Feng
KF
Hung
Department of Family Physicians, Mackay Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Medicine, Mackay Medical College, New Taipei City, Taiwan.
Ching-Ping
CP
Hsu
Management Office for Health Data, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan; Research Center for Chinese Medicine & Acupuncture, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan.
Jen-Huai
JH
Chiang
Department of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan; School of Post-Baccalaureate Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan.
Hung-Jen
HJ
Lin
Graduate Institute of Chinese Medicine, School of Chinese Medicine, College of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan; Department of Chinese Medicine, Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, Chiayi, Taiwan.
Yi-Ting
YT
Kuo
Department of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Chinese Medicine, School of Chinese Medicine, College of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan.
Mao-Feng
MF
Sun
Department of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan; Research Center for Chinese Medicine & Acupuncture, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Chinese Medicine, School of Chinese Medicine, College of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan; Research Center for Chinese Herbal Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan; Research Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine, Department of Medical Research, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan. Electronic address: hungrongyen@gmail.com.
Hung-Rong
HR
Yen
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000379:methods*; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012042:Registries; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality*; D015996:Survival Rate / Q000639:trends; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal
Chinese herbal medicine; Complementary and alternative medicine; Gastric cancer; National Health Insurance Research Database; Traditional Chinese medicine