Relevance of EGFR gene mutation with pathological features and prognosis in patients with non-small-cell lung carcinoma

Objective:To study the relevance of EGFR gene mutation with pathological features and prognosis in patients with non-small-cell lung carcinoma.Methods:A total of 297 patients from July 2009 to May 2013 were chosen as objects.EGFR gene mutation were detected with fluorescence quantitative PCR.Relevance of EGFR gene mutation with clinical and pathological features was analyzed,and the prognosis of EGFR- mutant-patients and that of EGFR- wide type-patients was compared.Results:In 297 patients.136(45.79%) showed EGFR gene mutation.EGFR gene mutation had no significant relevance with age.gender,smoking history,family history of cancer and clinical stage(P>0.05);there was significant relevance between EGFR gene mutation and blood type,pathologic types,differentiation and diameter of cancer(P<0.05).The difference between prognosis of EGFR- mutant-patients and that of EGFR- wide type-patients was statistical significance(P<0.05).Conclusions:EGFR gene mutation has significant relevance with pathological features,the prognosis of EGFRmutant-paticnts is better than that of EGFR- wide type-patients.

Inhibitory Effect of MiR-449b on Cancer Cell Growth and Invasion through LGR4 in Non-Small-Cell Lung Carcinoma

Non-small-cell lung carcinoma （NSCLC） is one of the most frequently diagnosed malignancies worldwide. Previous studies have shown that microRNA-449b （miR-449b） functions as a tumor suppressor in many cancers. However, the role of miR- 449b in NSCLC is still unknown. In the present study, miR-449b was significantly down- regulated in NSCLC samples and cell lines. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that 3＇-UTR region of leucine rich repeat containing G protein-coupled receptor 4 （LGR4） mRNA had putative complementary sequences to miR-449b, which was further confirmed by the luciferase assay. Western blotting showed that restoration of miR-449b in NSCLC cells decreased the expression of LGR4. Interestingly, over-expression of miR-449b inhibited growth and invasion of NSCLC cells in vitro. Furthermore, ectopic expression of LGR4 reversed miR-449b-suppressed proliferation and invasion of NSCLC cells. Therefore, the data of the present study demonstrate that miR-449b inhibits tumor cell growth and invasion by targeting LGR4 in NSCLC.

Pembrolizumab-emerging treatment of pulmonary sarcomatoid carcinoma: A case report

BACKGROUND Few studies have addressed the efficacy of pembrolizumab in pulmonary sarcomatoid carcinoma(PSC),a rare,previously rapidly fatal subtype of nonsmall-cell lung cancer.CASE SUMMARY We report the case of a 69-year-old man presented with respiratory distress caused by a large left upper lung lobe mass diagnosed as PSC with programmed death-ligand 1 expressed on more than 50 percent of tumor cells.The patient was started on pembrolizumab and,after 5 cycles,there was a more than 80 percent decrease in the size of the tumor mass.Further decrease was seen at the end of 10 cycles.The patient has been tolerating pembrolizumab well,with no limiting side-effects.Fourteen months after first coming into the hospital,he remains asymptomatic.CONCLUSION Pembrolizumab appears as a viable emerging treatment for PSC.

Combined gastroscopic and laparoscopic resection of gastric metastatic adenosquamous carcinoma from lung: A case report

BACKGROUND Primary lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide.Common metastatic sites include the brain,liver,bones,and adrenal glands.However,gastric metastases from lung cancer are rare.This case may be the first report of a combined gastroscopic and laparoscopic resection for gastric metasta-tic adenosquamous carcinoma(ASC).CASE SUMMARY We report a case of gastric metastasis from lung cancer.The patient was a 61-year-old Han Chinese female who first attended our hospital complaining of a per-sistent cough,leading to the diagnosis of advanced-stage lung adenocarcinoma.After more than four years of chemotherapy,the patient began to experience epi-gastric pain.Endoscopy was performed,and pathological examination of biopsy specimens confirmed that the gastric lesion was a metastasis from lung cancer.The lesion was successfully resected by combined gastroscopy and laparoscopy.Histopathological examination of the resected gastric specimen revealed ASC.CONCLUSION Gastric metastases from lung cancer are rare.Endoscopy,histological and immunohistochemical staining are useful for diagnosing metastatic lesions.Surgical management may provide extended survival in appropriately selected patients.

Advances in adjuvant systemic therapy for non-small-cell lung cancer

Non-small-cell lung cancer remains a leading cause of death around the world. For most cases, the only chance of cure comes from resection for localised disease, however relapse rates remain high following surgery. Data has emerged over recent years regarding the utility of adjuvant chemotherapy for improving disease-free and overall survival of patients following curative resection. This paper reviews the clinical trials that have been conducted in this area along with the studies integrating radiation therapy in the adjuvant setting. The role of prognostic gene signatures are reviewed as well as ongoing clinical trials including those incorporating biological or targeted therapies.

Pang Fuwan Uses Yao Medicine to Observe the Therapeutic Effects on the Physical and Mental Symptoms of Patients with Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Objective: Investigate the efficacy and safety of Yao Medicine in the treatment of advanced non-small-cell lung carcinoma, and explore the best therapeutic measure for clinical benefit. Methods: From July 2020 to July 2022, 84 patients with advanced non-small-cell lung carcinoma were selected and randomly divided into the Observation Group and control group, and the control group was treated with routine Western medicine, with 42 cases in each group. The activity of daily living (ADL) was assessed before and after treatment, meanwhile, the self-rating depression scale (SDS) and self-rating anxiety SAS (SAS) were used to assess the improvement of a bad mood, and quality of life SF-36 was used to assess the quality of life, to judge the efficacy and safety. Results: The effective rate of observation group was 91.67%. The effective rate of the control group was 76.19%. The effective rate of the observation group was significantly higher than that of the control group (P 0.05). There were no significant differences in the scores of SDS, SAS and quality of life between the two groups before treatment (P > 0.05), and after treatment, the scores of SDS, SAS and quality of life in the two groups were compared with those in the control group (P > 0.05), the scores of VAS, SDS and SAS decreased significantly, while ESCV, angle of straight leg elevation, ADL, physiological score, emotional score, social score and health status score increased significantly, the difference was statistically significant (P 0.05). Conclusion: Yao Medicine can improve the psychosomatic symptoms of patients with advanced non-small-cell lung carcinoma better, with better efficacy and higher safety.

Unresectable stage Ⅲ non-small-cell lung cancer: Have we made any progress?

Lung cancer is responsible for the most cancer deaths worldwide with an incidence that is still rising. One third of patients have unresectable stage ⅢA or stage ⅢB disease. The standard of care for locally advanceddisease in patients with good performance status consists of combined modality therapy in particular concurrent chemoradiotherapy. But despite a lot of efforts done in the past, local control and survival of patients with unresectable stage Ⅲ non-small-cell lung cancer(NSCLC) remains poor. Improving outcomes for patients with unresectable stage Ⅲ NSCLC has therefore been an area of ongoing research. Research has focused on improving systemic therapy, improving radiation therapy or adding a maintenance therapy to consolidate the initial therapy. Also implementation of newer targeted therapies and immunotherapy has been investigated as well as the option of prophylactic cranial irradiation. This article reviews the latest literature on improving local control and preventing distant metastases. It seems that we have reached a plateau with conventional chemotherapy. Radiotherapy dose escalation did not improve outcome although increasing radiation dose-intensity with new radiotherapy techniques and the use of newer agents, e.g., immunotherapy might be promising. In the future well-designed clinical trials are necessary to prove those promising results.

In Surgical Treatment of Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer a Minimum Number of Resected Mediastinal Lymph Nodes Is Mandatory for Accurate Staging

Objective: Increased numbers of removed lymph nodes (LN) are resulting in more accurate staging of the patient (Will-Rogers-Phenomenon). This study evaluates dependence of lymph node sample size to 1) Will-Rogers-Phenomenom, 2) influence of sample size on overall survival and in?terms of 3) morbidity and mortality. Methods: 131 patients after pulmonary resection were?retrospectively analysed concerning surgery, number of removed lymph nodes, stage, complications and survival. Patients were stratified according to the median number of lymph nodes in two groups (A <12 lymph nodes and B ≥12 lymph nodes). Results: 5% of the patients had only local lymphadenectomy and in 14% a systematic lymphadenectomy was performed. 17% of the patients showed skip metastasis. Lymph node positivity was correlated to the number of removed lymph nodes (p = 0.003). The approximated median survival for UICC (Union internationale contre le cancer) stage I was 511, stage II 521 and stage III 290 days. Subgroup analysis of survival data showed in group A an approximated median survival at stage I of 495 days, at II 537 days and at III 451.5 days. Group B showed at stage I 675 days, at II 521 days and at III 221 days. There was no difference in complications and mortality. Conclusion: A too low sample size leads to understaging due to skip metastasis. Obligatory mediastinal lymph node sampling would decrease the risk of understaging due to skip metastasis and does not increase morbidity or complications. Lymph node sampling is not inferior concerning morbidity and survival in our patient collective. This study cannot recommend a minimum number of LN to be resected. The evaluated limit of 12 LN proves to be suitable as a guideline.

Apoptosis of Lewis Lung Carcinoma Cells Induced by Microwave via p53 and Proapoptotic Proteins In vivo

Background： Microwave therapy is a minimal invasive procedure and has been employed in clinical practice for the treatment of various types of cancers. However, its therapeutic application in non-small-cell lung cancer and the underlying mechanism remains to be investigated. This study aimed to investigate its effect on Lewis lung carcinoma （LLC） tumor in vivo. Methods： Fifty LLC tumor-bearing C57BL/6 mice were adopted to assess the effect of microwave radiation on the growth and apoptosis of LLC tumor in vivo. These mice were randomly assigned to 10 groups with 5 mice in each group. Five groups were treated by single pulse microwave at different doses for different time, and the other five groups were radiated by multiple-pulse treatment of a single dose. Apoptosis of cancer cells was determined by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick-end labeling assay. Western blotting was applied to detect the expression of proteins. Results： Single pulse of microwave radiation for 5 min had little effect on the mice. Only 15-min microwave radiation at 30 mW/cm2 significantly increased the mice body temperature （2.20 ± 0.82）℃ as compared with the other groups （0.78 ± 0.29 ℃, 1.24 ± 0.52 ℃, 0.78 ± 0.42 ℃, respectively）, but it did not affect the apoptosis of LLC tumor cells significantly. Continous microwave radiation exposure, single dose microwave radiation once per day for up to seven days, inhibited cell division and induced apoptosis of LLC tumor cells in a dose- and duration-dependent manner. It upregulated the protein levels of p53, Caspase 3, Bax and downregulated Bcl-2 protein. Conclusions： Multiple exposures of LLC-bearing mice to microwave radiation effectively induced tumor cell apoptosis at least partly by upregulating proapoptotic proteins and downregulating antiapoptotic proteins. Continuous radiation at low microwave intensity Ibr a short time per day is promising in treating non-small-cell lung cancer.

Lung squamous cell carcinoma combined with tuberculous pleurisy

A58-year old male patient was admitted to our .hospital with repeated coughing, expectoration withblood in the sputum for more than 10 months, bilateral wrists and ankles with pain and afternoon low fever, chest tightness and shortness of breath in the latest one month. The patient had a history of joint pain for more than 3 years without special treatment. He had a smoking history for more than 30 years with 10 cigarettes a day. He had no family tumor history. Physical examination： T 38.5℃, P 100/min, R 22/min, blood pressure （BP） 107/77 mmHg; the double upper fingers visible clubbing, bilateral supraclavicular lymph node not feelable, left inferior pulmonary respiratory sounds disappeared, and wet and dry sounds not heard.

ADJUVANT CHEMOTHERAPY FOLLOWING RADICAL SURGERYFOR NON-SMALL CELL LUNG CANCER:A RANDOMIZED STUDY

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of adjuvant chemotherapy after radical surgery for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods: Seventy patients with NSCLC (stage I–III) undergone radical surgery were randomized into two groups: 35 patients received adjuvant chemotherapy with cyclophosphamide (CTX) 300 mg/m2, vincristine (VCR) 1.4% mg/m2, adriamycin (ADM) 50 mg/m2, lomustine (CCNU) 50 mg/m2 dl, cisplatin (DDP) 20 mg/m2, d1–5, for 4 cycles, and followed by oral Ftorafur (FT-207) 600–900 mg/d for 1 year (adjuvant chemotherapy group). The other 35 patients received surgical treatment only (surgery group). Results: The overall 5-year survival rate was 48.6% in the adjuvant chemotherapy group, and 31.4% in the surgery group, respectively. The difference between the two groups was not statistically significant (P>0.05). The 5-year survival rate of patients in stage III was 44.0% and 20.8% received surgery with and without adjuvant chemotherapy, respectively. The difference between the two groups was statistically significant (P<0.025). The 5-year survival rate of patients in stage I–II in the two groups was 60.0% and 54.5%, respectively (P>0.75). Conclusion: Postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy in NSCLC can improve survival, for those patients in stage III, it suggests significantly 5-year survival rate in the adjuvant chemotherapy group was higher than that in the surgery alone group.

Partial removal of the pulmonary artery in video-assisted thoracic surgery for non-small cell lung cancer

Lobectomy with partial removal of the pulmonary artery in video-assisted thoracic surgery （VATS） currently remains a challenge for thoracic surgeons. We were interested in introducing pulmonary vessel blocking techniques in open thoracic surgery into video-assisted thoracic surgery （VATS） procedures. In this study, we reported a surgical technique simultaneously blocking the pulmonary artery and the pulmonary vein for partial removal of the pulmonary artery under VATS. Seven patients with non-small-cell lung cancer （NSCLC） received lobectomy with partial removal of the pulmonary artery using the technique between December 2007 and March 2012. Briefly, rather than using a small clamp on the distal pulmonary artery to the area of invading cancer, we replaced a vascular clamp with a ribbon and Hem-o-lock clip to block the preserved pulmonary veins so as to prevent back bleeding and yield a better view for surgeons. The mean occlusion time of the pulmonary artery and pulmonary veins were 44.0±10.0 and 41.3±9.7 minutes, respectively. The mean repair time of the pulmonary artery was 25.3±13.7 minutes. No complications occurred. No patients showed abnormal blood flow through the reconstructed vessel. There were no local recurrences on the pulmonary artery. In conclusion, the technique for blocking the pulmonary artery and veins is feasible and safe in VATS and reduces the risk of abrupt intraoperative bleeding and the chance of converting to open thoracotomy, and extends the indications of VATS lobectomy.

A Prospective Randomized Study of Adjuvant Chemotherapy in Completely Resected Stage III-N2 Non Small Cell Lung Cancer

To evaluate the effect of postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy on survival after complete resection of stage III-N2 non-small-cell lung cancer. Methods： From Jan. 1999 to Dec. 2003, one-hundred and fifty patients, who were diagnosed as stage III-N2 non-small cell lung cancer after operation, were randomly devided into chemotherapy group and control group. The former received four cycles of chemotherapy with NVB （25 mg/m^2, D1, D5）/paclitaxel （175 mg/m^2, D1） and Carboplatin （AUC=5, D1）. Results： In chemotherapy group, 75.8% （68/79） of patients had finished the 4 cycles of chemotherapy and no one died of toxic effects of chemotherapy. Twenty-five percent of the patients had grade 3-4 neutropenia and 2% had febrile neutropenia. The median survival for the entire 150 patients was 879 d, with 1-year survival rate of 81%, 2-year survival rate of 59% and 3-year survival rate of 43%. There was no significant difference in median survival between chemotherapy and control group （897 d vs 821 d, P=0.0527）, but there was significant difference in the 1-year and 2-year overall survival （94.71%, 76.28% vs 512 d, P=0.122）, but there was significant difference in the 2-year survival rate between two groups with brain metastases （66.7% vs 37.6% P〈0.05）. The median survival after brain metastasis appeared was 190 days. Conclusion： Postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy does not significantly improve median survival among patients with completely resected stage II-N2 non-small-cell lung cancer, but significantly improves the 1-year and 2-year overall survival. It neither decreases the incidence of brain metastasis but put off the time of brain metastasis.

Role of positron emission tomography-computed tomography in non-small cell lung cancer

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. Non-small cell carcinoma and small cell carcinoma are the main histological subtypes and constitutes around 85% and 15% of all lung cancer respectively. Multimodality treatment plays a key role in the successful management of lung cancer depending upon the histological subtype, stage of disease, and performance status. Imaging modalities play an important role in the diagnosis and accurate staging of the disease, in assessing the response to neoadjuvant therapy, and in the follow-up of the patients. Last decade has witnessed voluminous upsurge in the use of positron emission tomography-computed tomography(PET-CT); role of PET-CT has widened exponentially in the management of lung cancer. The present article reviews the role of 18-fluoro-deoxyglucose PET-CT in the management of non small cell lung cancer with emphasis on staging of the disease and the assessment of response to neoadjuvant therapy based on available literature.

老年非小细胞癌病人术后“教科书式结局”的影响因素及预后价值分析

目的分析老年非小细胞肺癌(NSCLC)病人行根治性手术后达成“教科书式结局”(TO)的影响因素,并探讨TO对病人预后的影响。方法收集2012年1月至2017年12月石家庄市妇幼保健院接受手术的555例临床分期为Ⅰ~Ⅱ期的老年NSCLC病人的临床资料,根据是否达成TO分为TO组与非TO组。应用logistic回归模型分析影响TO达成的独立危险因素,并构建列线图预测模型。模型的预测效能与一致性通过受试者操作特征(ROC)曲线与一致性曲线评估。应用Kaplan-Meier生存曲线与Cox回归模型评价TO的预后价值。结果555例NSCLC病人中,372例(67.0%)成功达成TO。与未达成TO的病人相比,达成TO者的年龄较小、多为女性、吸烟者较少、共病指数较小、术前第1秒用力呼气量占预计值百分比(FEV1%)与一氧化碳弥散量占预计值百分比(DLCO%)较高、多接受胸腔镜手术并且肿瘤多为腺癌(P<0.05)。多因素分析结果表明,性别、共病指数、术前DLCO%与手术方式是TO达成的独立影响因素(P<0.05)。结合以上4个因素构建的列线图预测模型具有一定的预测效能(AUC=0.74)与较好的一致性(Hosmer-Lemeshow P=0.287)。生存分析显示,达成TO的病人其术后生存显著优于未达成TO的病人(P<0.05),并且TO是术后生存的独立影响因素(P<0.05)。结论年龄、性别、DLCO%与手术方式是影响老年NSCLC病人在接受肺癌根治术后达成TO的独立预测因素,同时达成TO的病人具有显著更好的预后。

Adjuvant chemotherapy following radical surgery for non-small-cell lung cancer: a randomized study on 70 patients

To evaluate the efficacy of adjuvantchemotherapy after radical surgery for non-small-celllung cancer (NSCLC). Methods Seventy patients with NSCLC (stages Ⅰ -Ⅲ ) undergoing radical surgery were randomized intotwo groups. Group 1 (n = 35): combination group,which received adjuvant chemotherapy withcyclophosphamide 300 mg/m 2, vincristine 1. 4 mg/m 2,adriamycin 50 mg/m 2, and lomustine 50 mg/m 2 on day1, and cisplatin 20 mg/m 2 on days 1-5. Thetreatment was repeated every 4-6 weeks for 4 cycles,followed by oral administration of ftorafur (FT-207) 600-900 mg/d for 1 year. Group 2 (n = 35): surgerygroup, which received surgical treatment only. Results The overall 5-year survival rate was 48.6%in the combination group versus 31 .4% in the surgerygroup, and difference between the two groups was notStatistically significant (x 2 = 3.09, P > 0.05). The year survival rate for patients with stage Ⅲ diseasewas 44% and 20.8% in the combination and surgerygroups, respectively, showing a statistically significantdifference (x 2 = 5.28, P < 0.025). The 5-yearsurvival rates of patients in stages Ⅰ -Ⅱ in the twogroups were 60.0% and 54.5%, respectively, andwere not significantly different (x 2 = 0. 03, P > 0. 75). Conclusion Postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy provides statistically significant improvement in the 5 year survival rate only in patients with stage ⅢNSCLC.

^(18)F-FDG uptake as a biologic factor predicting outcome in patients with resected non-small-cell lung cancer

Background The outcome of surgical treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer （NSCLC） remains poor. In many patients the biological behavior of NSCLC does not follow a definite pattern, and can not be accurately predicted before treatment. ^18F-fluoro-2-deoxy-glucose （^18F-FDG） uptake on positron-emission tomography （PET） is associated with the aggressiveness of NSCLC. The present study focused on the role of ^18F-FDG uptake in predicting the outcome of surgically treated patients with NSCLC. Methods A retrospective analysis was made of 82 patients who underwent complete resection and preoperative FDG PET. The maximum standardized uptake value （SUVmax）, in addition to five clinicopathological factors and three biomolecular factors, which could possibly influence survival, was compared for possible association with patients＇ recurrence and survival, by the Log-rank test in univariate analysis and the Cox proportional hazards model in multivariate analysis. The association between SUVmax and other factors was also analyzed. Results Patients with SUVmax more than 11 had a disease-free survival and overall survival shorter than patients with SUVmax less than 11 in univariate analyses （P〈0.001, P=0.002）. In the multivariate analysis, SUVmax （dichotomized by 11） was the only significant predictor for tumor recurrence. TNM stage and SUVmax （dichotomized by 11） were independent predictors for the overall survival. Associations of SUVmax with p53 overexpression, proliferating cell nuclear antigen （PCNA） labeling index and microvascular density of the tumor were significant in the entire group. Conclusions ^18F-FDG uptake on PET may be used to noninvasively assess biological aggressiveness of NSCLC in vivo, identifying the surgically-treated patients with poor prognosis who could benefit from additional therapy.

Chemotherapy in conjunction with traditional Chinese medicine for survival of elderly patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer:protocol for a randomized double-blind controlled trial

BACKGROUND： Traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） is considered an important complementary therapy with beneficial effects for cancer patients. Elderly patients with non-small-cell lung cancer （NSCLC） are a complex patient group with increasing co-morbidity and shrinking physiological reserve, and may derive substantial benefit from the supportive aspects of TCM Researchers from Shanghai Longhua Hospital found that qi and yin deficiency is a common syndrome in patients with stage III or IV lung cancer. This project was designed to study the combination of single-agent chemotherapy with TCM methods of benefiting qi and yin in elderly patients with advanced NSCLC. METHODS AND DESIGN： This is a double-blind controlled, multi-center, and prospective study with randomly selected participants from elderly NSCLC patients in China. Seventy-six patients who meet the inclusion criteria will be allocated into two groups, which will receive treatments of 3-week single-agent chemotherapy with TCM or placebo for four cycles Progression-free survival （PFS） is the primary end point, and the secondary end points are overall survival, objective response rate, time-to-progression, and quality of life （EORTC QLQ-LC43, and TCM syndrome score） Meanwhile, other end points such as toxicity, side effects and safety of the treatments will be assessed. DISCUSSION： Results from this study may provide evidence on the effectiveness, and parameters for the usage of single-agent chemotherapy combined with or without TCM on PFS of elderly patients with NSCLC.

Effect of scar-producing moxibustion at the acupoints Zusanli(ST 36) and Feishu(BL 13) on neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and quality of life in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer: A randomized,controlled trial

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of heat stimulation via scar-producing moxibustion at the acupoints Zusanli(ST 36) and Feishu(BL 13) on the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio(NLR) and quality of life in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer(NSCLC).METHODS: Seventy patients with NSCLC were randomly assigned into two groups: group A received scar-producing moxibustion at the acupoints Zusanli(ST 36) and Feishu(BL 13) every day for 6 weeks, while group B received no intervention(control group). Outcome measures were the NLR and the scores from the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire(EORTC QLQ-C30). The NLR and the EORTC QLQ-C30 were assessed at baseline and at the end of 6 weeks.RESULTS: Five participants dropped out, leaving afinal total of 65 participants who completed the trial. Groups A and B had a similar mean NLR at baseline. After the treatment course, the NLR in group A was significantly lower than that in group B(P <0.001). Compared with group B, the EORTC QLQ-C30 scores in group A were significantly greater in terms of global health status or quality of life(P < 0.001) and function(P < 0.05), and significantly lower in terms of symptoms(P < 0.05).CONCLUSION: The present study suggests that performing scar-producing moxibustion by heat-stimulating the acupoints Zusanli(ST 36) and Feishu(BL13) effectively decreases the NLR and improves the quality of life in patients with NSCLC.

Clinical observation of Yiqi Qingdu Prescription(益气清毒方)on the treatment of intermediate-stage and advanced non-small-cell lung cancer

OBJECTIVE:To observe the effects of the Yiqi Qingdu prescription(益气清毒方)on intermediate-stage and advanced non-small-cell lung cancer(NSCLC).METHODS:In total,300 patients with intermediate-stage or advanced NSCLC were randomly and equally divided into three groups using computer-generated random numbers as follows:Western medicine(WM),Chinese medicine(CM),and integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine(IM).After 3 months of treatment,the overall response rate(ORR);disease control rate(DCR);symptom score(SS);Karnofsky performance status(KPS);adverse event score;counts of CD3^(+),CD4^(+),and CD8^(+)cells;CD4^(+)/CD8^(+)ratio;and carcinoembryonic antigen(CEA)level were compared among the groups.RESULTS:The ORRs were 30.36%,20.24%,and 7.87%in the IM,CM,and WM groups,respectively,whereas the DCRs were 85%,75%,and 73%,respectively.Compared to the CM group,the ORR was significantly higher in the WM and IM groups,whereas the DCR was significantly higher in the IM group(all P<0.05).SS was obviously higher in the WM group than in the other two groups(both P<0.01).KPS was significantly lower in the WM group after treatment(P=0.005).The mean number of adverse events was significantly lower in the CM(2.2±1.3)and IM(2.4±1.3)groups than in the WM group(4.6±1.7,both P<0.05).CD3^(+)cell counts were significantly decreased in the WM group(P=0.031).In the IM group,CD8^(+)cell counts were increased after treatment,whereas the CD4^(+)/CD8^(+)ratio was decreased(both P<0.01).Compared with the WM group,CD3^(+)(P=0.01),CD4^(+)(P=0.044),and CD8^(+)(P=0.009)cell counts were significantly higher in the IM group,whereas the CD4^(+)/CD8^(+)ratio was significantly lower(P=0.011).Relative to the CM group,CD8^(+)cell counts were significantly higher(P=0.001)and the CD4^(+)/CD8^(+)ratio was significant ly lower in the IM group(P=0.001).CEA levels were significantly increased in the CM group(P=0.023).CONCLUSION:The Yiqi Qingdu prescription can improve the outcomes of WM in patients with NSCLC.