Abstract:
Objective To explore the effect of Shenmai Injection on survival of patients with gastric cancer in phase Ⅱ to Ⅲ in a real-world environment.
Methods From January 1, 2012 to December 1, 2022, 433 patients with gastric cancer who met the inclusion criteria were collected as research objects and divided into the Shenmai group (treated with traditional Chinese and western medicine) and the control group (treated with western medicine). Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to balance the confounding factors between groups; the Cox regression model was used to evaluate the risk factors for prognosis of gastric cancer; the Kaplan-Meier method and Log-rank test were used to compare the overall survival (OS) and progression free survival (PFS) of patients in both groups.
Results A total of 433 patients met the inclusion criteria were enrolled in this study, and were assigned into two groups after PSM, with 65 cases in each group. After PSM, the median OS and PFS in the Shenmai group were 35.27 and 22.63 months respectively, which were significantly longer than 17.83 and 14.97 months in the control group (P < 0.001, P=0.003). After PSM, the 1-, 3- and 5-year survival rates in the Shenmai group were 90.7%, 49.3% and 34.8% respectively, which were significantly higher than 67.7%, 19.8% and 4.9% in the control group (χ2=21.983, P < 0.001). Multivariable analysis of survival prognosis showed that the independent risk factors influencing gastric cancer were vascular invasion (P=0.046), adenocarcinoma with signet-ring cell carcinoma (P=0.001), phase Ⅲa (P=0.012), phase Ⅲb (P=0.035) and phase Ⅲc (P=0.046) of TNM staging. Shenmai Injection combined with Aidi injection (P < 0.001), Yadanzi Injection (P=0.001), radical surgery (P=0.004) and chemotherapy (P=0.005) were able to benefit the survival of gastric cancer patients.
Conclusion The combination of Shenmai Injection and western medicine has more advantages than simple western medicine treatment in treating patients with gastric cancer in phase Ⅱ to Ⅲ.