Abstract
This paper is a systematic review of evidence-based studies of the effectiveness of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) in the treatment of liver cancer. After a detailed analysis of the literature, five animal studies and four human clinical trials met the criteria for inclusion. Analysis revealed that results of the clinical trials, whilst encouraging, need to be interpreted with caution as problems with study designs may lead to apparent benefits being attributable to various forms of bias. However, as each of the CHM agents used in these studies appeared to be potentially beneficial, further well-designed and controlled randomized clinical trials are warranted. The second part of this review focused on the lessons learned from the relationships between Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) theory, TCM Syndrome Differentiation, and modern scientific understanding of mechanisms of action of CHM agents. The understanding of TCM Syndrome Differentiation may allow identification of different patterns of disharmony and may provide important guidance to the prescription of CHM. Furthermore, quality control using both biological and chemical fingerprinting of CHM is important to ensure batch-to-batch consistency to deliver sustained therapeutic benefit. Also, careful assessment of herb-drug interactions is paramount for safety and integrative use of western chemotherapeutic and CHM agents.
Highlights
This review aimed to examine the evidence for using Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) in cancer treatment in terms of the benefits and potential mechanisms of action
This review focuses on the current understanding of CHM as a therapy for liver cancer and explores approaches for its future development as an evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) for liver cancer management
We systematically reviewed some CHMs for the treatment of liver cancer
Summary
This review aimed to examine the evidence for using Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) in cancer treatment in terms of the benefits and potential mechanisms of action. In the United States between 1990 and 2007, the increase in death rates for liver cancer accounted for nearly 70% of the total increase in the cancer death rates in men and for almost 23% of the increase in women [2]. Only 30% to 40% of patients with liver cancer are candidates for potentially curative treatments at the time of their diagnosis [4]. Treatment modalities such as surgical resection, liver transplantation, and local ablation are only considered for patients with preserved liver function. Most newly diagnosed liver cancer patients are already at an advanced stage. Many patients are either not suitable for TACE or suffer from poor outcomes with conventional systemic cytotoxic chemotherapy [5]
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