Appreciating a Successful Integrated Chinese-Western Case of Liver Cancer

This is a medical case published in Sichuan Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine <2011, 29(10): 15-16>. In this case, after the patient was diagnosed with liver cancer, the tumor completely disappeared through integrated Chinese-Western treatment, and the patient's quality of life improved. The patient's treatment experience is very instructive, so I venture to recommend it to readers.

The patient, Ms. Xu, was a 69-year-old woman who sought help on May 27, 2009 from the author of the article, Dr. Shao Ming. She had a history of chronic hepatitis B. In September 2008, because of "right upper quadrant pain and discomfort for over a month," she underwent B-ultrasound at a local hospital, which showed a space-occupying lesion of the liver (liver cancer?). Because the lesion was small, she underwent "radiofrequency ablation" plus transarterial embolization.

After completing the above Western treatment, follow-up B-ultrasound showed a hepatic space-occupying lesion (3.5 cm × 3.0 cm), splenomegaly, tortuous splenic vein, coarse hepatic echoes, hepatic cyst, and dilation of the common bile duct. Inquiry showed the patient had epigastric fullness and discomfort, pitting edema of the lower extremities, many dreams at night, yellow urine of normal volume, normal bowel movements, a slightly red tongue with thin white and slightly greasy coating, and a fine, wiry pulse. TCM pattern differentiation: yin deficiency with dampness.

Dr. Shao prescribed: Stigma Maydis (Yumixu) 30 g, Herba Artemisiae Scopariae (Yinchen) 20 g, Poria with bark (Lifu Fuling) 15 g, Herba Hedyotis Diffusae (Baihuasheshecao) 15 g, stir-fried Semen Coicis (Yiyiren) 30 g, Herba Scutellariae Barbatae (Banzhilian) 15 g, Semen Ziziphi Spinosae (Suanzaoren) 15 g, Radix Rhodiolae (Hongjingtian) 15 g, Exocarpium Benincasae (Dongguapi) 15 g, stir-fried Fructus Aurantii (Zhiqiao) 10 g, Bulbus Lilii (Chuanbaihe) 30 g, stir-fried Fructus Setariae and Hordei (Guya and Maiya), each 15 g. Decoct in water, one dose daily. The patient was also told to appropriately eat high-protein foods such as lean meat.

After taking the medicine for one month, the patient returned: lower-extremity edema had improved, but she had lower abdominal distension, belching, yellow urine, low back pain and many dreams; the tongue was red and the pulse wiry. Follow-up imaging showed the hepatic space-occupying lesion had shrunk to 2.2 cm × 2.2 cm.

Dr. Shao then reduced Stigma Maydis in the first prescription to 15 g, removed Exocarpium Benincasae, and added Radix Polygalae Praeparata (Zhi Yuanzhi) 5 g, Radix Cyathulae (Chuanniuxi) 15 g, Radix Achyrantis Bidentatae (Huainiuxi) 15 g, and Semen Plantaginis (Cheqianzi, wrapped) 15 g. She returned regularly; on November 25, 2010, B-ultrasound suggested possible liver cirrhosis, hepatic cyst, splenomegaly and common bile duct dilation. At a later follow-up, the hepatic space-occupying lesion had completely disappeared, and the patient continued with consolidating TCM treatment.

The reason this patient's tumor could completely disappear was not entirely due to TCM. Because after ablation and interventional embolization, the tumor gradually shrinks; it does not necessarily require Chinese medicine to disappear completely. Some time after ablation and interventional treatment, the tumor may well disappear on its own. The principle of ablation is to kill cancer cells with high heat; interventional embolization cuts off the tumor's blood supply so that it naturally undergoes apoptosis. Both treatments have a delayed effect, so the tumor's disappearance in this case cannot necessarily be credited to the Chinese medicine.

But the symptomatic supportive TCM treatment Dr. Shao gave was also very meaningful. Both ablation and interventional procedures have certain side effects, and the patient had multiple problems at the time, including ascites and abdominal distension. Dr. Shao used formulas that promoted urination and drained dampness, and cleared heat and detoxified, to relieve the patient's clinical symptoms, while also using some spirit-calming, sleep-improving herbs. These objectively played a large role in the patient's recovery.

For patients with three or fewer hepatic tumors, the largest smaller than 5 cm, ablation and interventional embolization are both very good Western treatments with a high effective rate, and this patient received both. But these means did not completely solve the patient's problems; TCM holistic and symptomatic supportive treatment further addressed some other issues, and Chinese medicine also has some anti-cancer effect. With integrated Chinese-Western treatment, this patient's liver tumor ultimately disappeared completely, so this is a very successful treatment model.

I often tell cancer patients and their families not to hold prejudices for or against TCM or Western medicine, but to adopt multidisciplinary cooperation and integrated Chinese-Western treatment for major diseases like cancer, because such treatment has a higher success rate. This case may be insignificant among countless anti-cancer cases, but it is very representative. I hope liver cancer patients and their families can draw inspiration from it, and I also hope colleagues engaged in integrated Chinese-Western anti-cancer research can benefit from it.