• Journal of Korean Traditional Oncology
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.57-66
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• 2022

Objective: To report the improvements with Korean medicine-based integrative cancer therapies on adverse effects of adjuvant chemotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer patients. Method: There were two patients complained cough, rhinorrhea, numbness, general weakness, nausea and dyspepsia after chemotherapy. They got treated centered on Korean medicine including herbal medicine, acupuncture, electro-acupuncture, pharmacopuncture, moxibustion, hand and foot bath. They were also treated Western immunotherapies like Thymosin at regular intervals. The symptoms were measured by the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 15 for Palliative Care(EORTC QLQ C-15 PAL) and their subjective assessments. Results: Their chief complaints were relieved and their quality of life scores was improved even though they have been receiving chemotherapy continuously. Conclusion: These cases revealed a possibility that Korean medicine-based integrative cancer therapies could improve some symptoms after chemotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer.

• Journal of Korean Traditional Oncology
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2019

Objective: The purpose of this study is to report the clinical effectiveness of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with Samchilchoongcho-Jung (HAD-B1) in conjunction with Alectinib. Methods: The patient was diagnosed with Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) mutated (2+) non-small cell lung cancer adenocarcinoma stage IV, suffering from edema of lower extremities, dyspnea, pleural effusion, general weakness, insomnia. The patient being treated with Alectinib was treated with Samchilchoongcho-Jung (HAD-B1) for disease control and symptom management. The clinical outcomes were measured by National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Event (NCI-CTCAE), Numeral rating scale (NRS) and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG). Results: After treatment, dyspnea and edema of lower extremities was relieved from NRS 7 to 5, and 6 to 1 respectively. And ECOG score of the patient was improved from grade 3 to 2. During and after treatment, we didn't find any severe toxicities on laboratory findings. Conclusion: This case study suggests that Samchilchoongcho-Jung (HAD-B1) may improve symptom relief and life quality of NSCLC patient in conjunction with Alectinib.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.16-26
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• 2022

Objectives: Traditional Korean medicine (TKM) has been supplied as part of a national health care system in South Korea under a dual medical system, however it has been difficult to mix western medicine and TKM medical practices in existing hospitals. For the objective of innovative integration between them, Comprehensive and Integrative Medicine Hospital were founded in Daegu, South Korea. Here, we discussed the clinical outcomes of cancer patients who received integrative cancer treatment (ICT). Methods: A total of 678 patients previously diagnosed with cancer were retrospectively checked in our institution for 2 years. After applying inclusion/exclusion criteria, 573 patients were eligible for the final analysis. The overall survival (OS) of these patients in the aftercare period were determined. We looked at how clinical factors and treatments including chemotherapy, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), and TKM affected the OS. Results: At the first visit, 212 subjects had no evidence of disease after tumor resection and 355 ones with advanced cancer, who receiving ICT including chemotherapy, CAM, and TKM showed better OS compared to the CAM including TKM or the best supportive care (median OS = 216, 78, and 46 days, respectively). The median OS was not reached in TKM only, even though the sample size was small (N=12). Even after adjusting for clinical factors associated to liver, renal, and hematologic manifestation, ICT still remained significant. Conclusions: We demonstrated that ICT might be beneficial for advanced cancer regardless of the performance status, liver and renal function, since it positively affected the OS.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.26-46
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• 2016

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to present the clinical guidelines and traditional Korean medicines for gastric cancer.Results: Gastric cancer is the second most common cancer in Korea. Recent studies have reported that applying integrative Oriental and Western medicine can suppress the tumor, improve the survival, the immune system, and the quality of life in gastric cancer. However, there still is no unified protocol for gastric cancer treatment, which produces difficulty in clinical applications. In Korea, a “Synopsis on the Clinical Practice Guidelines of Gastric Cancer” was published by the Korean Journal of Gastroenterology in 2014. In China, Oriental medicine clinical practice guidelines were published for the first time in 2014. The present author proposed “Clinical Practice Guidelines of Korean Medicine for Gastric Cancer” in 2014, but there is a need for more advanced guidelines with reference to the aforementioned Oriental and Western guidelines. This study will be helpful for understanding and building systems for integrative gastric cancer treatment.Conclusions: Further studies on integrative gastric cancer treatment are needed to improve the survival of gastric cancer patients and build the clinical practice guidelines for gastric cancer.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.723-729
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• 2019

Objective: This study was aimed at reporting on a patient with repeated recurrence of metastatic colorectal cancer treated with traditional Korean medicine (TKM) alone after operation and chemotherapy. Method: The patient with metastatic colorectal cancer received tumor resections four times and perioperative chemotherapy for repeated recurrence from February 2013 until March 2015. TKM, which included Gunchil-dan and Haeam-dan, was administered until June 2019 to prevent additional relapses. Results: After 49 months of TKM treatment, there was no tumor recurrence. A no evidence of disease (NED) state was maintained from March 2015 to June 2019. Recurrence-free survival (RFS) was shown for 49 months and overall survival (OS) for 78 months. Serious adverse events evaluated according to the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) Version 5.0 were not identified. This study suggested that TKM with herbal medicine including aRVS might prolong survival and inhibit recurrence of tumors in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.74-86
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• 2016

Objectives: This article aims to review clinical studies related to traditional Korean medicine (TKM) for cancer-related cognitive impairment (CRCI) up to date. Methods: EMBASE, Pubmed and eight Korean databases were searched for clinical studies about TKM for CRCI up to July 2016. We selected articles about subjects with cancer, using TKM interventions including acupuncture, moxibustion or herbal medicine, containing assessment about cognitive function. Results: Two randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and one randomized controlled feasibility study were included. Selected studies were containing assessments about cognitive function but not as primary outcomes. The three studies included one acupuncture study and two herbal-medicine studies. Only one herbal-medicine study showed improvement in cognitive function. Conclusions: Few clinical studies mainly focusing CRCI treated with TKM have been performed and have shown contradictory results until now. Future studies should be performed considering findings from pre-clinical and clinical studies altogether, and they should be controlled to minimize risk of bias thorough out overall courses of designing, conducting and reporting them.

• Journal of Korean Traditional Oncology
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.55-79
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• 2015

Hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) is the fifth most common cancer worldwide (fifth in male, seventh in female) and the third most common cause of cancer mortality. Since 2001, the various research group in the United States, Europe and Asia have published clinical practice guidelines for HCC. In Korea, a clinical practice guideline for HCC have been published by The Korean Liver Cancer Study Group in 2003, revised in 2009 and 2014. In China, oriental medicine clinical practice guideline have been published for the first time in 2014, and in the oriental medical profession of Korea, there is growing need for the guideline. This study will introduce the methods of diagnosis and the medical therapeutics which is commonly utilized for HCC in Korea, and existing korean medicine clinical practice guideline for Disease Analysis and Treatment(辨證論治) and herbal therapy of HCC. Further clinical research about various herbal medicines are needed to develop more advanced guideline of HCC.

• Journal of Korean Traditional Oncology
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.63-74
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• 2016

Objective : The purpose of this study is to report the effects of radio-frequency hyperthermia cancer treatment in conjunction with Sorafenib on hepatocellular carcinoma patient. Method : The patient was diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma at S6/7 and treated with right posterior sectionectomy. After 4 months, tumor recurrence was found at S4, 5 and 8. After transarterial chemoembolization, the patient was prescribed Sorafenib (proprietary name $Nexavar^{(R)}$ ) as well as proceeding with radio-frequency hyperthermia. The clinical outcomes were measured by computed tomography, laboratory findings including tumor markers (AFP, PIVKA-II), natural killer (NK) cell activity, and numeric rating scales (NRS). Results : After the treatment, tumor size was decreased accompanying by reducing the level of tumor markers (AFP, PIVKA-II). Major clinical symptoms were improved with increasing NK cell activity. There were no adverse events based on National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events version 4.0. Conclusion : This case suggests that radio-frequency hyperthermia has synergistic effect for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma patient in conjunction with Sorafenib.

• Journal of Korean Traditional Oncology
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.13-20
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• 2009

Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related death throughout the world. Non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC) is the most deadly form of lung cancer. Patients with non-small cell lung cancer are often found to be unavailable for operation at primary diagnosis. They are typically given conventional chemotherapy. When the tumor progresses during chemotherapy, a change in regimen is considered. The average period of administration differs with the regimen. In this case report, the authors introduce two cases of non-small cell lung cancer patients treated with allergen removed Rhus verniciflua stokes based herbal medicine along with pemetrexed($Alimta^{(R)}$) and erlotinib($Tarceva^{(R)}$). The authors report this case because these molecular-targeted agents were used for longer periods than expected, while improving the performance and other symptoms. Further studies illuminating the synergistic effects through conjunctive treatment with both conventional and Eastern medicine in lung cancer treatment should be performed in the future.

• Journal of Korean Traditional Oncology
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.37-44
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• 2009

Most of patients who have cancer still suffer from various forms of pain that significantly impact their quality of life. Cancer pain is a difficult problem for clinicians because analgesic drugs do not always procure complete relief. Acupuncture has been used as complementary treatment of cancer pain. We report a patient with colorectal cancer who suffer from cancer pain. The patient underwent chemotherapy, radiotherapy and opioid therapy. However, the patient insisted on being treated for his continuous pain with oriental medical treatment. The patient was treated with acupuncture(especially SAAM acupuncture) for 2 months, additional herbal medication was administered. After those treatments, the patient showed remarkable improvement in terms of intensity and severity of cancer pain. Further study will be needed in order to determine the long-term efficacy of acupuncture on cancer pain.