Traditional Chinese medicine as supportive care for the management of liver cancer: Past, present, and future

Abstract

Liver cancer is the sixth most commonly diagnosed cancer and the fourth leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Western medicine and therapies are the primary treatment strategies of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but the general prognosis for HCC patients is still dismal. Under these circumstances, HCC prevention is particularly important. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) encompasses a wealth of documented therapeutic resources, and “preventative treatment” is the principle of TCM. In China, TCM has been used for HCC prevention for thousands of years, and has also been demonstrated to be effective for the treatment of HCC in modern China. However, the TCM theory for prevention and treatment of HCC is more widely accepted in China than abroad. In this review, we first summarize the herbs and ancient formulas with therapeutic effects on HCC. We also review the research status of TCM in modern medicine as well as the current obstacles in its development. Finally, we discuss the future of TCM in the context of precision and integrated medicine. After reviewing the literature, we believe that TCM, through ancient development, is an advanced method of cancer treatment with positive curative effects, despite its surrounding controversy. Furthermore, precise analyses and systematic research methods provides novel approaches to modernize TCM for the future.

Hydroxysafflor yellow�A induces autophagy in human liver cancer cells by regulating Beclin�1 and ERK expression

“…At present, surgery and western pharmaceutical drugs are the two primary strategies for treating tumors. However, unwanted side effects and drug resistance have led to increased research into novel multi-faceted and multi-targeting antitumor drugs, including a focus on TCM (4,5).…”

“…However, these therapeutic methods, used either alone or in combination, have numerous limitations (2). Therefore, a number of previous studies have attempted to identify novel therapeutic agents for liver cancer derived from Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) (3,4). In China, it has been claimed that TCM has therapeutic advantages, including suppressing liver cancer progression, reducing surgical complications and increasing the sensitivity of cells to chemotherapy and radiotherapy (4,5).…”

“…Therefore, a number of previous studies have attempted to identify novel therapeutic agents for liver cancer derived from Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) (3,4). In China, it has been claimed that TCM has therapeutic advantages, including suppressing liver cancer progression, reducing surgical complications and increasing the sensitivity of cells to chemotherapy and radiotherapy (4,5). Furthermore, previous studies have reported that specific TCMs improve the function of the immune system in certain organisms and limit the detrimental effects of surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy (2,5).…”

Systems Pharmacology-Based Identification of Mechanisms of Action of Bolbostemma paniculatum for the Treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

“…TCM treatments have multicomponent, multitarget, and multi-pathway characteristics [ 7 ]. Therefore, exploration of TCM and other natural products as effective and less toxic anti-cancer drugs presents great promise for preventing and treating liver cancer [ 8 ]. Bolbostemmatis Rhizoma (Chinese name “Tu Bei Mu”, TBM) is the dry tuber of Bolbostemma paniculatum (Maxim.)…”

Pien Tze Huang (PZH) as a Multifunction Medicinal Agent in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM): a review on cellular, molecular and physiological mechanisms

“…by including TCM diagnostic patterns into the new revision of the International Classification of Diseases code [9][10][11][12][13][14]. TCM has drawn significant research attention in the western world.…”