47 senile non-parvicellular lung cancer patients at stage III or IV were randomly divided into a treatment group (26 cases) treated by radiotherapy plus traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and a control group (21 cases) treated only by radiotherapy for observation of the therapeutic effects. The patients in the treatment group orally took Chinese medicine during and after the radiotherapy. There was no obvious difference in short-term therapeutic effects between the two groups, but the long-term curative effects in the treatment group was obviously superior to that in the control group (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01).
Conclusion: Radiotherapy plus TCM can prolong the survival period for senile non-parvicellular lung cancer patients.