摘要OBJECTIVE:To illustrate the effect of add-on therapy of Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM)on the long-term survival of anemic lower-risk myelodysplastic syndromes(LR-MDS)patients.METHODS:In this study,we conducted a retrospective analysis of the data of patients with LR-MDS who were identified from Shuguang Hospital between January 2006 and June 2020.The Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate overall survival(OS),while the Cox model was employed to analyze prognostic factors of long-term survival.A total of 162 patients who met the inclusion criteria were divided into two groups:the TCM group(n=78)or the non-TCM group(n=84).RESULTS:There were no significant differences in baseline characteristics.The cumulative survival rate of the TCM group was significantly higher than that of the non-TCM group[log-rank P=0.029,hazard ratio(HR)=0.484,95％confidence interval(CI)(0.249,0.942),P＜0.05].Patients with longer TCM treatment appeared to have better OS(≥ 12 months vs＜12 months);[HR,0.166 95％CI(0.055,0.508),P＜0.001)].According to the Cox model analysis,the combination of TCM and conventional Western Medicine may be a protective factor affecting the long-term survival of LR-MDS patients[HR=0.509,95％CI,(0.261,0.993),P=0.048].The hematologic improvement erythroid response(HI-E)rate of the TCM group was significantly higher than that of the non-TCM group(69.23％vs 52.38％;P=0.028).However,the duration of HI-E and cases of disease progression after Hl-E did not significantly differ from the non-TCM group(P＞0.05).CONCLUSIONS:The integration of TCM and Western Medicine has the potential to extend the OS of LR-MDS patients when compared to the use of Western Medicine alone.