Clinical Benefit Evaluation on Treatment of Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma with Chinese Herbs

Objective To assess therapeutic effects of Chinese herbs in the treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma （HCC） using clinical benefit response. Methods From January 1999 to December 2003, a total of 133 consecutive patients with advanced HCC were reviewed retrospectively. Clinical benefit was defined as （1） improvement in Child Pugh classification （on an 11-point scale） and/or KPS （≥20 points）, （2） stability of these two parameters with a 25% reduction in tumor size or alpha-fetoprotein （AFP） from baseline. Survival curves were plotted with Kaplan-Meier and compared by using a log rank test. Results The cumulative clinical benefit response rate after the first cycle was 20.3%. The clinical benefit response rate for Chinese herbs was 22.7 %, for herbs combined transarterial chemoembolization 30.7 %, for other treatment 11. 9%. The median time was 3. 1 months （95% confidence interval 1. 97-4. 23 months） and the 12-month survival was 19. 3%. Conclusion Notable clinical benefit improvement was seen with Chinese herbs in stage Ⅳ HCC patients.