Abstract:
OBJECTIVE To observe the effect of the Chinese herbal compound Weidiao No.3 Formula (WD-3) combined with immunotherapy and chemotherapy on survival outcomes in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with lung-spleen qi dificiency type.
METHODS A total of 216 patients with stage Ⅲb–Ⅳ NSCLC without driver gene mutations and with lung-spleen qi vacuity pattern and admitted to the oncology departments of Wuxi Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Jiangnan University Affiliated Hospital between January 1, 2020, and March 1, 2025, were enrolled. Based on whether they received WD-3 oral treatment (≥3 months), they were divided into a Chinese medicine exposure group (n=98; WD-3+immunotherapy combined with chemotherapy) and a non-exposure group (n=118; immunotherapy combined with chemotherapy alone). Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to balance baseline characteristics. Overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and baseline characteristics were compared between the two groups. Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to analyze the association between exposure and outcome, and sensitivity analysis was performed.
RESULTS After PSM, there were no statistically significant differences in baseline characteristics between the two groups (P > 0.05). After matching, the median OS (32.92 months) and median PFS (9.07 months) in the Chinese medicine exposure group were longer than those in the non-exposure group (23.24 months and 7.89 months, respectively), with statistically significant differences (P < 0.05). Multivariate analysis was conducted, incorporating age, PD-L1 expression, KPS score, pathological type, and other factors as covariates to assess the independent association between WD3 exposure and OS and PFS outcomes. The results indicated that WD3 exposure was statistically significant in reducing the risk of death (OS outcome) and disease progression (PFS outcome). Specifically, for the OS outcome, the HR was 0.626, with a 95%CI of 0.438 to 0.894, and P=0.01; for the PFS outcome, the HR was 0.721, with a 95%CI of 0.535 to 0.972, and P=0.032. Sensitivity analysis showed robust results (E-value > 2.1).
CONCLUSION WD-3 combined with immunotherapy and chemotherapy may prolong OS and PFS and reduce mortality risk in patients with advanced NSCLC without driver gene mutations and with lung-spleen qi dificiency type, achieves adequate therapeutic effects.