Effect of gefitinib plus Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer: A retrospective case–control study

SummaryBackgroundSome patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) respond well to the EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor gefitinib. Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) was effective in improving the quality of life and prolonging overall survival in patient with NSCLC. We aim to determine whether gefitinib plus CHM could prolong the progression-free survival (PFS) or median survival time (MST) in patients with NSCLC than gefitinib alone.MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed 159 non-small-cell lung cancer patients with the method of retrospective case–control study, matching factors included gender, age categories (30–39,40–49,50–59,60–69,70–79), pathological stage (IIIB or IV), smoking status (never: