Bian JY, Sun YX, Wang LF, He WT, Liu CB, Wang XQ, Zhang T. Integrated Chinese and Western medicine prolong survival in colorectal cancer with liver metastasis: A retrospective cohort study. World J Clin Oncol 2026; 17(5): 118265 [DOI: 10.5306/wjco.v17.i5.118265]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Tong Zhang, PhD, Associate Chief Physician, Department of Oncology, Xiyuan Hospital of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, No. 1 Xiyuan Playground, Haidian District, Beijing 100091, China. ashtray7654@126.com
Research Domain of This Article
Oncology
Article-Type of This Article
Retrospective Cohort Study
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Bian JY, Sun YX, Wang LF, He WT, Liu CB, Wang XQ, Zhang T. Integrated Chinese and Western medicine prolong survival in colorectal cancer with liver metastasis: A retrospective cohort study. World J Clin Oncol 2026; 17(5): 118265 [DOI: 10.5306/wjco.v17.i5.118265]
Jiang-Yu Bian, Yu-Xing Sun, Lin-Feng Wang, Tong Zhang, Department of Oncology, Xiyuan Hospital of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100091, China
Wen-Ting He, Department of Oncology of Chinese Medicine, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Urumqi 830000, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China
Chuan-Bo Liu, Department of Oncology, Dongfang Hospital of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100078, China
Xue-Qian Wang, Department of Oncology, Guang’anmen Hospital of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100053, China
Author contributions: Bian JY, Sun YX, and Wang LF contributed to the writing of the original draft, data collection and curation; Bian JY completed the formal analysis and visualization; He WT, Liu CB, and Wang XQ were responsible for resources, methodology, and supervision; Zhang T led the conceptualization and methodology, secured funding, provided resources and oversaw the study supervision. All authors have read and approved the final version of the manuscript.
Supported by the Hospital Capability Enhancement Project of Xiyuan Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, No. XYZX0201-22; and National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 82174461.
Institutional review board statement: This study has been approved by the Ethics Review Committee of the Xiyuan Hospital of the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences (Approval No. 2025XLA052-1).
Informed consent statement: Due to the retrospective design of the study and the use of anonymized clinical data, the requirement for informed consent was waived by the Ethics Committee. All procedures were conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and relevant guidelines and regulations.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement-checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement-checklist of items.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Corresponding author: Tong Zhang, PhD, Associate Chief Physician, Department of Oncology, Xiyuan Hospital of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, No. 1 Xiyuan Playground, Haidian District, Beijing 100091, China. ashtray7654@126.com
Received: January 4, 2026 Revised: February 12, 2026 Accepted: April 15, 2026 Published online: May 24, 2026 Processing time: 143 Days and 20.1 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Colorectal cancer is a leading malignancy worldwide, with the liver being the most common site of metastasis and the primary cause of death. While chemotherapy improves overall survival (OS) in colorectal cancer liver metastases (CRLM), conventional Western medicine has limited efficacy. In the previous cohort study on CRLM conducted by our team, it was observed that integrated Chinese and Western medicine (ICWM) may offer advantages in treating CRLM, but high-level evidence is still lacking.
AIM
To analyze the survival benefits of ICWM treatment in patients with CRLM.
METHODS
A retrospective cohort study was conducted, with “continuous traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) treatment for ≥ 3 months” as the exposure factor. A total of 499 patients from four tertiary grade A hospitals were divided into two cohorts: The ICWM treatment cohort (cohort A) with 185 patients and the Western medicine treatment cohort (cohort B) with 314 patients. OS, 3-year/5-year survival rates, and subgroup efficacy were compared. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression was employed to identify independent prognostic factors.
RESULTS
The study demonstrated a significant improvement in OS for patients receiving ICWM treatment (cohort A) compared to Western medicine alone (cohort B). The median OS was 36 months vs 28.37 months (hazard ratio = 0.65, P < 0.01), with higher 3-year and 5-year survival rates (47.03% vs 35.99%; 19.46% vs 10.51%). Subgroup analysis revealed statistically significant differences (P < 0.05) between two cohorts in subgroups such as age, sex, the primary tumor site, different genotypes, whether local treatment of liver metastases, treatment stage and whether there is concurrent extrahepatic metastasis were administered. Multivariate analysis identified right-sided colon location and rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog/B-Raf proto-oncogene, serine/threonine kinase mutations as poor prognostic factors, while local treatment of liver metastases and integrated TCM therapy were protective, reducing mortality risk by 39% and 47%, respectively.
CONCLUSION
ICWM treatment is associated with longer overall survival in CRLM patients and improve their 3rd and 5th survival rates, with TCM integration serving as an independent protective factor.
Core Tip: The liver is the most common site of metastasis for colorectal cancer and the primary cause of death among patients with this disease. This retrospective cohort study confirms that in real-world settings, integrated Chinese and Western medicine treatment is associated with longer overall survival in patients with liver metastases from colorectal cancer. Additionally, for patients unsuitable for local treatment, integrated Chinese and Western medicine therapy has also been shown to correlate with prolonged survival.
