Effect of self-prescribed traditional Chinese medicine formula on cancer-related fatigue in patients with lung cancer undergoing chemotherapy and its impact on immune function and quality of life

LI Xialin; LUO Peng

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1002-3429.2026.01.013

Abstract：Objective To investigate the effect of self-prescribed traditional Chinese medicine formula on cancer-related fatigue(CRF)in patients with lung cancer undergoing chemotherapy,as well as its impact on immune function and quality of life.Methods A total of 102 patients with CRF undergoing chemotherapy for lung cancer who were admitted from March 2023 to March 2024 were selected and divided into two groups according to the random number table method,with 51 patients in each group.The conventional group was given conventional symptomatic Western medicine treatment,and the research group was given self-prescribed traditional Chinese medicine formula on this basis.Both groups were treated for 4 consecutive weeks.The therapeutic effect,Piper Fatigue Scale(PFS)scores,Karnofsky Performance Scale(KPS)score,immune function(T lymphocyte subsets CD3+,CD4+,CD8+,CD4+/CD8+),quality of life[European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Core Questionnaire(EORTC QLQ-C30)]score and incidence of adverse reactions were compared between the two groups.Results At 4 weeks after treatment,the total effective rate of the research group was 92.16％(47/51),higher than that of the conventional group[72.55％(37/51)](P＜0.05).At 4 weeks and 3 months after treatment,the PFS behavioral fatigue,physical fatigue,cognitive fatigue,emotional fatigue scores and total scores of the research group were lower than those of the conventional group(P＜0.05).At 4 weeks and 3 months after treatment,the KPS score of the research group was higher than that of the conventional group(P＜0.05).At 4 weeks and 3 months after treatment,the levels of CD3+,CD4+and CD4+/CD8+in the research group were higher than those in the conventional group,while the level of CD8+was lower than that in the conventional group(P＜0.05).At 4 weeks and 3 months after treatment,the scores of each functional dimension of EORTC QLQ-C30 in the research group were higher than those in the conventional group(P＜0.05).The incidence of gastrointestinal reaction and bone marrow suppression in the research group was 31.37％(16/51)and 1.96％(1/51),lower than that in the conventional group[54.90％(28/51)and 15.69％(8/51)](P＜0.05).There was no significant difference in the incidence of liver function injury and rash between the two groups(P＞0.05).Conclusion Self-prescribed traditional Chinese medicine formula can effectively alleviate the symptoms of CRF in patients undergoing chemotherapy for lung cancer,regulate the immune function of the body,improve the functional status and quality of life of patients,and reduce the adverse reactions of chemotherapy.