A cohort study of the efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in the treatment of advanced breast cancer was conducted. The investigators identified 729 women who were diagnosed with breast cancer during 2001–2010 and who went on to receive taxane treatment (which would be given only for the presence of advanced disease).

Among these women, 115 received TCM for at least one month before and/or after the initial administration of taxane treatment. Survival from the index date (the date on which taxane treatment was initiated) was compared between the women who did and did not receive TCM, and was greater in the former group. The survival advantage among users of TCM was particularly great in those women who received TCM for more than six months.