A Review of Herbal Resources Inducing Anti-Liver Metastasis Effects in Gastrointestinal Tumors via Modulation of Tumor Microenvironments in Animal Models

Abstract

Liver metastases remain a major obstacle for the management of all types of tumors arising from digestive organs, and the tumor microenvironment has been regarded as an important factor in metastasis. To discover herbal candidates inhibiting the liver metastasis of tumors originating from the digestive system via the modulation of the tumor microenvironment and liver environment, we searched three representative public databases and conducted a systematic review. A total of 21 studies that employed experimental models for pancreatic (9), colon (8), and stomach cancers (4) were selected. The herbal agents included single-herb extracts (5), single compounds (12), and multiherbal decoctions (4). Curcuma longa Linn was most frequently studied for its anti-colon–liver metastatic effects, and its possible mechanisms involved the modulation of tumor microenvironment components such as vascular endothelial cells and immunity in both tumor tissues and circulating cells. The list of herbal agents and their mechanisms produced in this study is helpful for the development of anti-liver metastasis drugs in the future.

Laherradurin Inhibits Tumor Growth in an Azoxymethane/Dextran Sulfate Sodium Colorectal Cancer Model In Vivo

“…This result suggests that it is possible to use this acetogenin to prevent tumor cells from colonizing tissues and organs to generate metastasis. In CRC, the most frequent organ of metastasis is the liver; 50% of patients develop it in the course of the disease [77], and those patients with gastrointestinal tumors (including the colon) have a lower probability of survival if they develop metastasis to other organs [78]. Regarding the genus Annona, the extract of the species A. muricata was the only one reported to have antimetastatic properties in an orthotopic model of pancreatic tumor cells [15].…”