Review Article
Traditional Chinese Medicine in Cancer Care: A Review of Case Series Published in the Chinese Literature
Table 2
Type of cancer treated by TCM in case series published in Chinese journals.
| Type of cancer | No. of publications (a) | Frequency (a/652) | No. of patients (b) | Frequency (b/61,035) |
| Digestive system | | | | | Liver | 148 | 22.70% | 5,627 | 9.21% | Stomach | 110 | 16.87% | 3,431 | 5.62% | Intestine | 74 | 11.35% | 2,076 | 3.40% | Anus/anal rectum | 39 | 5.98% | 1,059 | 1.73% | Esophagus | 51 | 7.82% | 3,019 | 4.94% | Pancreas | 28 | 4.29% | 550 | 0.90% | Gallbladder | 4 | 0.61% | 21 | 0.03% | Subtotal | 454 | 69.62% | 15,783 | 25.84% | Respiratory system | | | | | Lung | 158 | 24.23% | 14,298 | 23.40% | Subtotal | 158 | 24.23% | 14,298 | 23.40% | Hematologic/lymphoid system | | | | | Leukemia | 73 | 11.20% | 3,250 | 5.32% | Malignant lymphoma | 16 | 2.45% | 480 | 0.79% | Subtotal | 89 | 13.65% | 3,730 | 6.11% | Urinary and reproductive systems | | | | | Cervix | 24 | 3.68% | 1,457 | 2.38% | Ovary | 17 | 2.61% | 295 | 0.48% | Bladder | 9 | 1.38% | 222 | 0.36% | Prostate | 15 | 2.30% | 217 | 0.36% | Kidney | 5 | 0.77% | 25 | 0.04% | Penis | 1 | 0.15% | 4 | 0.01% | Subtotal | 71 | 10.89% | 2,220 | 3.63% | Endocrine system | | | | | Breast | 60 | 9.20% | 1,677 | 2.75% | Thyroid | 12 | 1.84% | 153 | 0.25% | Head and neck cancer | | | | | Brain | 10 | 1.53% | 92 | 0.15% | Parotid gland | 1 | 0.15% | 2 | 0.00% | Oral cavity | 11 | 1.69% | 83 | 0.14% | Nasopharynx | 32 | 4.91% | 807 | 1.32% | Larynx | 5 | 0.77% | 17 | 0.03% | Subtotal | 59 | 9.05% | 1,001 | 1.64% | Skeletal and muscular systems | 11 | 1.69% | 178 | 0.29% | Skin cancer | 11 | 1.69% | 164 | 0.27% | Multiple myeloma | 7 | 1.07% | 137 | 0.22% | Malignant mole | 4 | 0.61% | 8 | 0.01% |
| Total* | 652 | | 61,035 | |
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*Some reports involved more than one type of cancer.
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