Chinese Herbal Medicine Is Helpful for Survival Improvement in Patients With Multiple Myeloma in Taiwan: A Nationwide Retrospective Matched-Cohort Study

AIM OF THE STUDY: The purpose of this study is to demonstrate that Chinese herbal medicine is beneficial for survival improvement in patients with multiple myeloma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a 1:1 propensity score–matched cohort study to analyze patients with multiple myeloma diagnosed between January 1, 2002, and December 31, 2012, through the Taiwanese National Health Insurance Research Database. Patients who received Chinese herbal medicine therapy from the initial date of diagnosis of multiple myeloma to December 31, 2012, were included in the Chinese herbal medicine group. Patients who were not treated with Chinese herbal medicine during the same interval were categorized in the non-Chinese herbal medicine group. A Cox regression model was used to adjust for sex, age, comorbidities, and drug use. Hazard ratios were also compared between the 2 groups. RESULTS: A total of 312 patients were identified after 1:1 propensity score matching. The patients had similar basic characteristics. A better survival status was found in the Chinese herbal medicine cohort (log-rank test, P < .0001). Finally, 49 patients in the Chinese herbal medicine cohort and 96 patients in the non-Chinese herbal medicine cohort died (adjusted hazard ratio = 0.35, 95% confidence interval = 0.24-0.51). The effect of survival improvement from Chinese herbal medicine in patients with multiple myeloma could be observed when prescriptions had the duration of ≥30 days. CONCLUSIONS: Our results showed that patients with multiple myeloma could benefit from Chinese herbal medicine treatment, which could improve the survival rate in Taiwan. The findings offer important ideas for further study.