Objective: To observe whether Chinese traditional medicine improves survival rate of extensive stage small cell lung cancer(ES-SCLC) patients after conventional chemoradiotherapy.Methods: Eighty-eight patients with ES-SCLC treated without surgery were divided randomly into the control group(chemoradiotherapy) and the experimental group(chemoradiotherapy plus traditional Chinese medicine treatment)

with forty-four patients in each group.The treatment in the two groups was the same except that XIDAN soup was given in the experimental group after chemoradiotherapy.Results: The median survivals for the control group and experimental group were 7.6 months and 11.1 months respectively.The overall 1-year survival rates of ES-SCLC patients in the two groups were 18.2% and 38.6%(χ2=4.53

P<0.05);2-year survival rates were 4.5% and 18.1%(χ2=4.06

P<0.05);3-year survival rates were 2.3% and 13.6%(χ2= 3.88

P<0.05)

and 5-year survival rates were 2.3% and 6.8%(χ2=1.05

P>0.05)respectively.Conclusion: Chinese medicine treatment after conventional chemoradiotherapy can improve the survival rate and prolong the life time of ES-SCLC patients.