A Case Report on the Clinical Effects of Herbal Medicine-Based Integrative Cancer Treatment Combined with Targeted Therapy in a Patient with Metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Objective: To report the clinical effects and safety of herbal medicine-based integrative cancer treatment (ICT) combined with targeted therapy in a patient with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), focusing on cancer pain, functional status, and tumor response.Methods: A patient with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-mutant metastatic NSCLC with brain, liver, lymph node, adrenal gland, and bone metastases received herbal medicine-based ICT in combination with osimertinib and conventional treatments from August 2025 to June 2026. Clinical outcomes were assessed using the numeric rating scale (NRS), Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status (ECOG PS), and serum tumor markers. Radiologic changes were evaluated using serial chest and abdominopelvic computed tomography (CT) and brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Safety was assessed using the National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (NCI-CTCAE).Results: Cancer pain associated with femoral bone metastasis improved from NRS 5 to 2, and ECOG PS improved from 2 to 1. Intermittent fever at admission resolved during treatment. Serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels declined continuously. Follow-up imaging demonstrated regression of the primary lung lesion and metastatic lesions in the liver and brain, indicating overall radiologic improvement. No grade 3 or higher adverse events were observed during the treatment period.Conclusion: In this case, herbal medicine-based ICT combined with targeted therapy was well tolerated and was associated with improvements in cancer pain, functional status, and radiologic tumor response. However, the contribution of individual treatments to these outcomes could not be determined. Further clinical studies are warranted to evaluate its efficacy and safety in patients with metastatic NSCLC.