Studies have shown that Chinese medicine can reduce the side effects of breast cancer treatment and improve quality of life. This helps with prognosis indirectly, by encouraging patients to stick it out for their entire treatment plan. But is it true that Chinese Medicine can improve prognosis in breast cancer directly? Can taking Chinese herbs help breast cancer patients live longer, and reduce the risk of death? Some researchers have looked at this question and found interesting results.
Research Suggesting that Chinese Medicine Can Improve Prognosis in Breast Cancer
Taiwan has a comprehensive nationwide health database, including both biomedical and TCM treatments. Because of this, it’s has been the subject of several population-based cohort studies. One study, published in Cancer in 2014, examined 729 advanced breast cancer patients receiving taxanes. It found that TCM users had a decreased risk of all-cause mortality than non-users. A stronger effect was seen among those who used the TCM for more than 180 days per year. Among the frequently used Chinese herbs, those found to be most associated with reduced mortality were Bai Hua She She Cao, Ban Zhi Lian, and Huang Qi.
In 2020, a prospective cohort study of 45 patients found that breast cancer patients treated with combined conventional and TCM treatment had higher red blood cell counts, better liver function, better QoL in some respects (i.e. fatigue, sleep disturbance and mucositis), and longer overall survival rates on average.
Finally, a 2023 study found that the use of TCM was associated with better survival measures in Stage IV breast cancer patients specifically. In other words, the use of TCM may be associated with better outcomes not only in quality of life and palliative measure, but also in terms of prognosis, although the latter association is based only on preliminary studies and merits more rigorous research. In terms of the specific herbal medicines associated with survival in this study, Zhi Gan Cao Tang, Huang Bai and Chi Shao were the 3 most commonly prescribed herbal medicines correlated with a higher survival rate.
Do Breast Cancer Patients Using Chinese Herbs Stop Hormone Therapy?
One concern from conventional doctors may be that when patients use of complementary and alternative medicine, they are less likely to stick to their conventional treatment regimes. A 2021 study looked at the effects of TCM on medical adherence to hormonal therapy (as measured by medication possession ratios or MPR) and on the survival outcome of ER+ breast cancer patients. It found no impact of TCM use on MPR. Meanwhile, both TCM use and MPR were significantly associated with a reduced risk of breast cancer-associated mortality. Furthermore, patients with more intensive use of TCM (more visits and more days of Chinese herbal use per year) had a more significant reduction in mortality risk than patients who used TCM less often.
References
Lee YW, Chen TL, Shih YR, Tsai CL, Chang CC, Liang HH, Tseng SH, Chien SC, Wang CC. Adjunctive traditional Chinese medicine therapy improves survival in patients with advanced breast cancer: a population-based study. Cancer. 2014 May 1;120(9):1338-44. doi: 10.1002/cncr.28579. Epub 2014 Feb 3. PMID: 24496917.
Lee YC, Chen YH, Huang YC, Lee YF, Tsai MY. Effectiveness of Combined Treatment with Traditional Chinese Medicine and Western Medicine on the Prognosis of Patients with Breast Cancer. J Altern Complement Med. 2020 Sep;26(9):833-840. doi: 10.1089/acm.2019.0200. PMID: 32924556.
Chan PW, Chiu JH, Huang N, Chen CM, Yu H, Liu CY, Hsu CH. Influence of Traditional Chinese Medicine on Medical Adherence and Outcome in Estrogen Receptor (+) Breast Cancer Patients in Taiwan: A Real-World Population-Based Cohort Study. Phytomedicine. 2021 Jan;80:153365. doi: 10.1016/j.phymed.2020.153365. Epub 2020 Oct 2. PMID: 33126168.
Chen PE, Hung HH, Huang WT, Yeh CH, Kao YW, Shia BC, Huang ST. Chinese Herbal Medicine Improved Survival in Stage IV Breast Cancer Patients: Data Mining of the Incorporated Taiwan Cancer Registry Database and Hospital Database. Integr Cancer Ther. 2023 Jan-Dec;22:15347354231178898. doi: 10.1177/15347354231178898. PMID: 37278256; PMCID: PMC10262619.