Objective. The purpose of this study was to systematically evaluate the efficacy and safety of acupuncture combined with the WHO three-step analgesic drug ladder for cancer pain. Methods. The Cochrane Library, PubMed, and CNKI Database of Systematic Reviews were searched. Using the Cochrane Register for Randomized Controlled Trials, the quality of the included literature was evaluated, and the meta-analysis was carried out with RevMan 5.3 software. Results. Compared with three-step analgesia alone, acupuncture combined with three-step analgesia for cancer pain increased pain relief response rates (RR = 1.12, 95% CI: 1.08∼1.17, P < 0.00001 ), reduced NRS score (SMD = −1.10, 95% CI: −1.86∼−0.35, P = 0.004 ), reduced the rate of side effects (RR = 0.45, 95% CI: 0.38∼0.53, P < 0.00001 ), including nausea ( P < 0.00001 ), vomiting ( P = 0.008 ), constipation ( P < 0.00001 ), and dizziness ( P = 0.010 ), reduced the burst pain rate (SMD = −1.38; 95% CI: −2.44∼−0.32, P = 0.01 ), shortened analgesia effect onset time ( P = 0.004 ), and extended the duration of response ( P < 0.0001 ). Conclusion. For the treatment of cancer pain, acupuncture combined with three-step analgesic drugs is better than using only three-step analgesic drugs.

Objective. We used the network pharmacological analysis method to explore the mechanism of multicomponent, multitarget, and multiway actions of Xiao-Xu-Ming decoction (XXMD) for cerebral ischemic stroke (CIS), which provided a basis on the research of innovative drugs. Method. We used the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform (TCMSP) to retrieve the active ingredients and targets of 12 herbs of XXMD; we used the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database of the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) to screen for differentially expressed genes in CIS to obtain the disease targets of CIS and to intersect it with the action targets of XXMD, and then the target drug efficacy is obtained. We used Cytoscape 3.6 software to construct the drug-active ingredient-action target interaction network of XXMD to treat CIS and conduct protein-protein interaction (PPI) network and topology analysis. The action target Gene Ontology (GO) biological processes and metabolic pathways in Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) of XXMD to treat CIS were enrichment analyzed with R software. Result. We screened out 226 active ingredients and 3646 action targets for XXMD. Among them, XXMD to treat CIS has 144 active ingredients, 12 targets, and proteins in the core network of PPI having STAT3, HIF1A, etc. Pathway enrichment analysis was based on the GO and KEGG biological processes involved in active oxygen metabolism, smooth muscle cell proliferation, cytokine production, angiogenesis, redox coenzyme metabolism, and oxidative stress. The main action processes are significantly associated with CIS signal pathways involved in microRNAs, ovarian steroid hormones, NF-кB signaling pathway, Th17 cell differentiation pathway, HIF-1 signaling pathway, folic acid synthesis pathway, galactose metabolism, and fructose and mannose metabolism. Conclusion. This study initially clarified the main targets and pathways of XXMD in the treatment of CIS, which can lay the foundation for further research on its pharmacological effects.

Objective:The specific mechanism of Xihuang Pill in the treatment of breast precancerous lesions and breast cancer has not yet been elucidated. Methods: In our study, BATMAN-TCM (a Bioinformatics Analysis Tool for Molecular mechanisms of Traditional Chinese Medicine) was used to forecast the relationship among chemical components, immune targets, and diseases of each herb in Xihuang Pill and constructed a component-target-disease network. Taking breast precancerous lesion model rats as the research object, the molecular mechanism of Xihuang Pill regulating immunity was analyzed. Results: BATMAN-TCM prediction showed that 309 genes were enriched in the biological process of "immune system response", which was the target of Xihuang Pill to regulate the immune system. The target of breast cancer disease and the genes related to Xihuang Pill's immune system response were crossed, and 88 cross genes were obtained. According to the enrichment results of GO/KEGG pathway, T cell activation was found to be the most relevant. We select Th1 cells (IL-2, IFN-γ) and Th2 cells (IL-4, IL-10) among them for animal experiment verification. The results show that Xihuang Pill can upregulate the serum IFN-γ and IL-2 levels, reduce the IL-4 and IL-10 levels, and regulate the balance of Th1/Th2 cells in the peripheral blood of rats with breast precancerous lesions. Conclusion: Xihuang Pill targets a variety of immune-related molecules related to breast precancerous lesions and is a traditional Chinese medicine formula that effectively regulates immune function.

Objective: To observe the effect of Xihuang Pill on microcirculation in 7,12-dimethylbenzoanthracene (DMBA) combined estrogen and progesterone induced breast precancerous lesions rats. Method: DMBA combined estrogen and progesterone were used to establish the model of breast precancerous lesions for 10 weeks in SD rats, then the low, medium and high dose Xihuang Pill (0.27, 0.55, 1.37g·kg−1) was given intragastric administration, and tamoxifen (4 mg·kg−1) was given intragastric administration as a positive control after the breast precancerous lesions models established successfully. The breast microcirculation was measured by laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF) in rats after 4 weeks of Xihuang Pill and tamoxifen intragastric administration. Result: Compared with the normal control group, the microcirculation perfusion of breast in the disease model group decreased significantly (P < 0.05). Compared with the disease model group, the breast microcirculation perfusion in each dose group of Xihuang Pill increased significantly (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The mechanism of Xihuang Pill in the treatment of breast precancerous lesions may be related to the improvement of breast microcirculation.