Chinese herbal medicines as adjuvant treatment during chemo- or radio-therapy for cancer.

Numerous studies have indicated that in cancer treatment Chinese herbal medicines in combination with chemo- or radio-therapy can be used to enhance the efficacy of and diminish the side effects and complications caused by chemo- and radio-therapy. Therefore, an understanding of Chinese herbal medicines is needed by physicians and other health care providers. This review provides evidence for use of Chinese herbal medicines as adjuvant cancer treatment during chemo- or radio-therapy. First, Chinese herbal medicines (e.g. Astragalus, Turmeric, Ginseng, TJ-41, PHY906, Huachansu injection, and Kanglaite injection) that are commonly used by cancer patients for treating the cancer and/or reducing the toxicity induced by chemo- or radio-therapy are discussed. Preclinical and clinical studies have shown that these Chinese herbal medicines possess great advantages in terms of suppressing tumor progression, increasing the sensitivity of chemo- and radio-therapeutics, improving an organism's immune system function, and lessening the damage caused by chemo- and radio-therapeutics. Second, clinical trials of Chinese herbal medicines as adjuvant cancer treatment are reviewed. By reducing side effects and complications during chemo- and radio-therapy, these Chinese herbal medicines have a significant effect on reducing cancer-related fatigue and pain, improving respiratory tract infections and gastrointestinal side effects including diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting, protecting liver function, and even ameliorating the symptoms of cachexia. This review should contribute to an understanding of Chinese herbal medicines as adjuvant treatment for cancer and provide useful information for the development of more effective anti-cancer drugs.

[1]  J. Li,et al.  Randomized phase II trial on mitomycin-C/cisplatin +/- KLT in heavily pretreated advanced breast cancer. , 2008, The American journal of Chinese medicine.

[2]  H. S. Parmar,et al.  Fruit and vegetable peels: Paving the way towards the development of new generation therapeutics. , 2010, Drug discoveries & therapeutics.

[3]  E. Tattelman Health effects of garlic. , 2005, American family physician.

[4]  Hui Ding,et al.  [Efficacy of Liangxue Jiedu Huoxue Decoction in prevention of radiation pneumonitis: a randomized controlled trial]. , 2010, Zhong xi yi jie he xue bao = Journal of Chinese integrative medicine.

[5]  N. Inaba,et al.  Inhibitory effects of herbal drugs on the growth of human ovarian cancer cell lines through the induction of apoptosis. , 2005, Gynecologic oncology.

[6]  Z. Zhan,et al.  Shenqi fuzheng, an injection concocted from chinese medicinal herbs, combined with platinum-based chemotherapy for advanced non-small cell lung cancer: a systematic review , 2010, Journal of experimental & clinical cancer research : CR.

[7]  Xi-jing Wang,et al.  Clinical Effects of Shenqi Fuzheng Injection in the Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy for Local Advanced Breast Cancer and the Effects on T-lymphocyte Subsets , 2008 .

[8]  N. Grant,et al.  Phase I study of the botanical formulation PHY906 with capecitabine in advanced pancreatic and other gastrointestinal malignancies. , 2010, Phytomedicine : international journal of phytotherapy and phytopharmacology.

[9]  R. Baserga,et al.  IGF-I receptor signalling in transformation and differentiation , 2001, Molecular pathology : MP.

[10]  Shufeng Zhou,et al.  Herbal interactions with anticancer drugs: mechanistic and clinical considerations. , 2010, Current medicinal chemistry.

[11]  B. Lau,et al.  Phytochemicals potentiate interleukin-2 generated lymphokine-activated killer cell cytotoxicity against murine renal cell carcinoma. , 1992, Molecular biotherapy.

[12]  Julie S. Jurenka Anti-inflammatory properties of curcumin, a major constituent of Curcuma longa: a review of preclinical and clinical research. , 2009, Alternative medicine review : a journal of clinical therapeutic.

[13]  A. Matsumura,et al.  Anti-angiogenic and immunomodulatory effect of the herbal medicine "Juzen-taiho-to" on malignant glioma. , 2005, Biological & pharmaceutical bulletin.

[14]  G. Silvestri,et al.  Pulmonary complications of radiation therapy. , 2004, Clinics in chest medicine.

[15]  Jaung-Geng Lin,et al.  The Chinese medicine Bu-Zhong-Yi-Qi-Tang inhibited proliferation of hepatoma cell lines by inducing apoptosis via G0/G1 arrest. , 2001, Life sciences.

[16]  S. Clarke,et al.  Management of chemotherapy-induced nausea, vomiting, oral mucositis, and diarrhoea. , 2005, The Lancet. Oncology.

[17]  Ju-yong Wang,et al.  Involvement of Caspase-3 Activity and Survivin Downregulation in Cinobufocini-Induced Apoptosis in A 549 Cells , 2009, Experimental biology and medicine.

[18]  S. Y. Choi,et al.  Preventive effect of ginseng intake against various human cancers: a case-control study on 1987 pairs. , 1995, Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology.

[19]  M. Perry,et al.  Hepatotoxicity of chemotherapy. , 2001, Expert opinion on drug safety.

[20]  K. Sekimizu,et al.  Apoptosis-inducing activity of compounds screened and characterized from cinobufacini by bioassay-guided isolation. , 2010, Molecular medicine reports.

[21]  G. Morrow,et al.  Management of Cancer-Related Fatigue , 2005, Cancer investigation.

[22]  Q. Dong,et al.  Experimental study on the effect of Kang-Lai-Te induced apoptosis of human hepatoma carcinoma cell HepG2. , 2009, Hepatobiliary & pancreatic diseases international : HBPD INT.

[23]  E. Ernst,et al.  How useful are unconventional cancer treatments? , 1999, European journal of cancer.

[24]  R Wong,et al.  Integration of Chinese medicine into supportive cancer care: a modern role for an ancient tradition. , 2001, Cancer treatment reviews.

[25]  Wei Tang,et al.  Traditional Chinese medicine and related active compounds against hepatitis B virus infection. , 2010, Bioscience trends.

[26]  Hen-Hong Chang,et al.  The therapeutic effect of modified Yu Ping Feng San on idiopathic sweating in end‐stage cancer patients during hospice care , 2009, Phytotherapy research : PTR.

[27]  Zhiwei Chen,et al.  The effects of cantharidin and cantharidin derivates on tumour cells. , 2009, Anti-cancer agents in medicinal chemistry.

[28]  Yung-chi Cheng,et al.  The Four-Herb Chinese Medicine PHY906 Reduces Chemotherapy-Induced Gastrointestinal Toxicity , 2010, Science Translational Medicine.

[29]  Z. Dai,et al.  Clinical effects of shenqi fuzheng injection in the neoadjuvant chemotherapy for local advanced breast cancer and the effects on T-lymphocyte subsets. , 2008, Journal of traditional Chinese medicine = Chung i tsa chih ying wen pan.

[30]  R. Planalp,et al.  Curcumin: From ancient medicine to current clinical trials , 2008, Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences.

[31]  Mao-de Lai,et al.  Anticancer effects of Chinese herbal medicine, science or myth? , 2006, Journal of Zhejiang University SCIENCE B.

[32]  H. Mori,et al.  Preventive effects of Juzen-taiho-to on N-methyl-N-nitrosourea and estradiol-17beta-induced endometrial carcinogenesis in mice. , 2001, Carcinogenesis.

[33]  L. Chien,et al.  Effectiveness of Traditional Chinese Medicine for Liver Protection and Chemotherapy Completion among Cancer Patients , 2011, Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM.

[34]  Ling Xu,et al.  Chinese Herbal Medicine for Cancer Pain , 2007, Integrative cancer therapies.

[35]  Tung‐Kwang Lee,et al.  Radioprotective potential of ginseng. , 2005, Mutagenesis.

[36]  M. Wargovich,et al.  Inflammation, cancer, and targets of ginseng. , 2007, The Journal of nutrition.

[37]  Y. Yen,et al.  Phase I/II study of PHY906/capecitabine in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. , 2009, Anticancer research.

[38]  I. Saiki A Kampo medicine "Juzen-taiho-to"--prevention of malignant progression and metastasis of tumor cells and the mechanism of action. , 2000, Biological & pharmaceutical bulletin.

[39]  K. Nan,et al.  Agents from amphibians with anticancer properties , 2008, Anti-cancer drugs.

[40]  S. Sudarsanam,et al.  Interactions between traditional Chinese medicines and Western therapeutics. , 2010, Current opinion in drug discovery & development.

[41]  H. Gerhard,et al.  [Side effects]. , 1955, Hippokrates.

[42]  B. Shan,et al.  Immunomodulating activity of Chinese medicinal herbs and Oldenlandia diffusa in particular. , 1997, International journal of immunopharmacology.

[43]  N. Kokudo,et al.  Anti-hepatitis B virus activities of cinobufacini and its active components bufalin and cinobufagin in HepG2.2.15 cells. , 2010, Biological & pharmaceutical bulletin.

[44]  G. Capellá,et al.  Recent advances in cancer therapy: an overview. , 2010, Current pharmaceutical design.

[45]  F. Qi,et al.  Apoptosis-inducing effect of cinobufacini, Bufo bufo gargarizans Cantor skin extract, on human hepatoma cell line BEL-7402. , 2008, Drug discoveries & therapeutics.

[46]  Wei Tang,et al.  Cinobufacini, an aqueous extract from Bufo bufo gargarizans Cantor, induces apoptosis through a mitochondria-mediated pathway in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells. , 2010, Journal of ethnopharmacology.

[47]  R. Doll,et al.  Radon in homes and risk of lung cancer: collaborative analysis of individual data from 13 European case-control studies , 2004, BMJ : British Medical Journal.

[48]  W. V. Lerberghe,et al.  The World Health Report 2008 Primary Health Care – Now More Than Ever 100 Adapting reforms to country context , 2008 .

[49]  L. Cobiac,et al.  Does garlic reduce risk of colorectal cancer? A systematic review. , 2007, The Journal of nutrition.

[50]  Lei Dong,et al.  A Randomized Pilot Study of Atractylenolide I on Gastric Cancer Cachexia Patients , 2007, Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM.

[51]  T Takahashi,et al.  Traditional Chinese Medicine and Kampo: A Review from the Distant past for the Future , 2006, The Journal of international medical research.

[52]  Y. Shukla,et al.  Cancer chemoprevention with garlic and its constituents. , 2007, Cancer letters.

[53]  Thomas Efferth,et al.  Evidence-based Chinese medicine for cancer therapy. , 2008, Journal of ethnopharmacology.

[54]  Masahito Watanabe,et al.  IN MICE , 2009 .

[55]  Ying Zhang,et al.  Pilot study of huachansu in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, nonsmall‐cell lung cancer, or pancreatic cancer , 2009, Cancer.

[56]  Y. Sugawara,et al.  Dynamic of modernizing traditional Chinese medicine and the standards system for its development. , 2008, Drug discoveries & therapeutics.

[57]  D. Monti,et al.  Managing Cancer Pain With Nonpharmacologic and Complementary Therapies , 2007, The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association.

[58]  F. Dimeo,et al.  Effects of exercise on cancer‐related fatigue , 2001, Cancer.

[59]  Mansoor M Ahmed,et al.  Curcumin confers radiosensitizing effect in prostate cancer cell line PC-3 , 2004, Oncogene.

[60]  B. Pan,et al.  Efficacy and safety of gemcitabine-oxaliplatin combined with huachansu in patients with advanced gallbladder carcinoma. , 2008, World journal of gastroenterology.

[61]  S. Kummar,et al.  Phase I/IIA randomized study of PHY906, a novel herbal agent, as a modulator of chemotherapy in patients with advanced colorectal cancer. , 2003, Clinical colorectal cancer.

[62]  K. Tamada,et al.  The restoration of the antitumor T cell response from stress-induced suppression using a traditional Chinese herbal medicine Hochu-ekki-to (TJ-41:Bu-Zhong-Yi-Qi-Tang). , 1999, Immunopharmacology.

[63]  Hui Wang,et al.  Curcumin, a dietary component, has anticancer, chemosensitization, and radiosensitization effects by down-regulating the MDM2 oncogene through the PI3K/mTOR/ETS2 pathway. , 2007, Cancer research.

[64]  S. Bell,et al.  Prescription for Nutritional Healing , 1990 .

[65]  A. Ralston Side effect , 2003 .

[66]  Sung-Ho Kim,et al.  The radioprotective effects of bu-zhong-yi-qi-tang: a prescription of traditional Chinese medicine. , 2002, The American journal of Chinese medicine.

[67]  G. Wang,et al.  Medical uses of mylabris in ancient China and recent studies. , 1989, Journal of ethnopharmacology.

[68]  A. Jadad,et al.  The WHO analgesic ladder for cancer pain management. Stepping up the quality of its evaluation. , 1995, JAMA.

[69]  M. Ye,et al.  Simultaneous determination of four bufadienolides in human liver by high-performance liquid chromatography. , 2004, Biomedical chromatography : BMC.

[70]  H. Maruta,et al.  From chemotherapy to signal therapy (1909-2009): A century pioneered by Paul Ehrlich. , 2009, Drug discoveries & therapeutics.

[71]  W Xu,et al.  Traditional Chinese medicine in cancer care: perspectives and experiences of patients and professionals in China. , 2006, European journal of cancer care.

[72]  Won Cheol Choi,et al.  Bojungikki-Tang for Cancer-Related Fatigue: A Pilot Randomized Clinical Trial , 2010 .