A Case of Late-Stage Liver Cancer Treated with Integrated Chinese-Western Medicine for Over Two Years

The patient was a 74-year-old woman, the mother of my junior-middle-school classmate. On April 12, 2023, she went to Wuxue City First People's Hospital in Hubei Province (outpatient no. 2304131004) because of severe liver pain. Radiological examination (image no. CT0230413001) showed multiple slightly hypodense lesions in the liver, the largest measuring 6.1 × 5.8 cm, with subcapsular hematoma considered due to tumor apoplexy, a small amount of pelvic effusion, and a metallic density shadow at the lesser curvature of the stomach.

My classmate contacted me immediately and asked me to help him decide. Because we were childhood friends and trusted each other deeply, I gave him a full plan without reservation. I advised them to choose integrated Chinese-Western medicine and to quickly transfer his mother to Wuhan Tongji Hospital rather than lingering at the county hospital. I also contacted Dr. Yang in the hospital's oncology department, asking her to admit my classmate's mother and provide what help she could. Dr. Yang and I had known each other for years and readily agreed. I asked her to treat my classmate's mother without any hesitation; if communication problems arose, I would help bridge them.

I gave my classmate the following advice: 1. Get a PET-CT at Tongji Hospital to determine systemic metastasis; 2. Get a biopsy for pathology; 3. Do genetic testing to determine whether targeted drugs are available; 4. Test the hepatitis B viral load—if elevated, take the antiviral drug entecavir; 5. Have a hepatobiliary surgeon promptly stop the bleeding.

Treatment should follow a comprehensive integrated plan: 1. Three to five hepatic interventional procedures; 2. If genetic testing shows a targeted drug is available, consider immunotherapy plus targeted therapy; 3. If after treatment the tumor shrinks below 5 cm and the number of lesions falls to within three, consider radiofrequency ablation of the lesions. For TCM, do not take decoctions long-term; use the following: 1. Xihuang Wan; 2. Biejia Ruangan Pian (Turtle Shell Liver-Softening Tablets); 3. Fuchunle Pian. Take Yunnan Baiyao capsules to help stop bleeding, and take some probiotics (we chose a brand called "Pusa Xinchang") to address constipation.

My classmate's family followed every step. In fact, the examination and treatment plan proposed by Western medicine at Tongji Hospital was basically consistent with my advice, so they did not take detours and directly adopted comprehensive measures. The hepatobiliary surgery successfully stopped the bleeding; interventional therapy was quite effective, and the liver tumor shrank after treatment.

Thereafter the patient entered a maintenance phase on Chinese patent medicines. I gave her a long-term pill-and-powder preparation containing hundreds of ingredients, including julus (Orthomorpha), toad venom (chansu), earthworm (dilong), Scrophularia, Zhejiang fritillary (zhebeimu), raw oyster shell (sheng muli), fluorite (huarui shi), centipede (wugong), scorpion (quanxie), Hedyotis (ganyan cao), Artemisia capillaris (yinchen), Bupleurum (chaihu), Scutellaria (huangqin), gecko (bihu), and notoginseng (sanqi), taken daily in small doses.

The patient has been maintained this way for nearly two years. As I write this, she is still alive, and her tumor has shrunk considerably from when it was first detected. She lives with her family in the countryside of her hometown, and her strength has not continued to decline.

During this period, on the third day of the first lunar month in 2024, my classmate drove me to his home to see his mother. She looked frail, and I worried quietly, suspecting she might not survive until the Qingming Festival of 2023. But unexpectedly, after taking the medicine her condition improved somewhat, and the lesions remained stable.

On the first day of the first lunar month in 2025, the patient suddenly developed nausea and vomiting and deteriorated; she went to the county people's hospital emergency department, but the doctors there did not know how to handle her nausea and vomiting. When my classmate called me, I judged that she had likely caught influenza A and told him to buy baloxavir marboxil immediately and have his mother take it as soon as possible. Subsequent blood tests confirmed she had influenza A; fortunately, after timely baloxavir her symptoms quickly resolved and she weathered the crisis.

The day before yesterday, my classmate contacted me to ask whether the medication plan needed adjustment. On inquiry, I learned that his mother's general condition was acceptable and the tumor had not rebounded. In the two years and two months since diagnosis, she has been following my comprehensive plan and enjoys a reasonable quality of life. Her physical condition is better than at diagnosis. Although I do not know how long this patient will live, late-stage liver cancer with bleeding problems that nonetheless survives more than two years after reasonable medical management—and, judging by her current condition, is unlikely to die of liver cancer in the short term—is an outcome not easily achieved.

Why do I present this treatment record? Mainly so that readers understand: cancer is a worldwide medical challenge; cure rates in late-stage cancer are low, and even prolonging life is difficult. Comprehensive treatment is the way to maximize survival time and quality of life. Do not favor Chinese medicine over Western medicine or vice versa; use whichever is needed at the time.