Influences of Reinforcing Qi and Nourishing Yin Method Combined with Gemcitabine on Quality of Life of Senile Patients with Advanced Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

OBJECTIVE To observe the influences of reinforcing qi and nourishing yin method combined with gemcitabine on immunologic function and quality of life in senile patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC). METHODS 60 senile patients with advanced NSCLC were randomly divided into treatment group(31 cases treated with Yiqi Yangyin Kangliu Formula plus gemcitabine) and control group(29 cases given gemcitabine only). Such changes as quality of life， clinical symptoms， adverse reaction of chemotherapy and immunologic function of both groups during the observation period were recorded. RESULTS After treatment， body function scores， role function scores as well as the overall quality of life scores of patients in the treatment group were much higher than those in the control group(P<0.01). And such symptom scores as dyspnea， insomnia， loss of appetite in the treatment group were much lower than those in the control group(P<0.05~0.01). Symptoms like cough， shortness of breath， dry mouth and throat were reduced obviously， which were superior to control group(P<0.01). Compared to the control group， there were partial improvements of serum immune function in the treatment group(P<0.01); And adverse reaction of chemotherapy in the treatment group was lower than that in the control group(P<0.05). CONCULSION Reinforcing qi and nourishing yin method combined with gemcitabine is effective in treating senile patients with advanced NSCLC by improving clinical symptoms and quality of life and reducing side effects caused by treatment.