Abstract
Herbal medicines, as an important part of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), have been used to treat digestive system malignancies (DSM) for many years, and have gradually gained recognition worldwide. The role of herbal medicines in the comprehensive treatment of DSM is being improved from adjuvant treatment of the autologous immune function in cancer patients, to the treatment of both the symptoms and disease, direct inhibition of tumor cell growth and proliferation, and induction of tumor cell autophagy and apoptosis. Their specific mechanisms in these treatments are also being explored. The paper reviews the current anti-tumor mechanisms of TCM, including single herbal medicines, Chinese herbal formulations, Chinese medicine preparations and TCM extract, and their application in the comprehensive treatment of digestive system tumors, providing a reference for clinical application of TCM.
Highlights
Digestive system malignancies (DSM) are a common cancer worldwide
Wang et al found Astragalus Saponin II could enhance the sensitivity of human HCC cells to 5- fluorouracil by suppressing autophagy via Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)-mTOR pathway, improving the antitumor effects of chemotherapeutic drugs (Wang M. et al, 2017). These findings suggest that Astragalus saponins could be developed into an effective chemotherapeutic agent or adjuvant drug for the comprehensive treatment of digestive system malignancies (DSM)
Overexpression of family-with-sequence-similarity-46C (FAM46C) reportedly inhibits invasiveness of liver cancer cells by suppressing transforming growth factor-β-Smad signaling and epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT); FAM46C-knockout can change the anti-metastatic effect of NCTD on tumor cells, suggesting the anti-hepatoma impact of NCTD is affected by up-regulating FAM46C (Wan et al, 2017)
Summary
Digestive system malignancies (DSM) are a common cancer worldwide. They include esophageal, liver, pancreatic, gallbladder, gastric, and colorectal cancers. Due to their high incidence, rapid disease progression, and poor prognosis, they are a leading cause of death, and a public health burden around the world (Siegel et al, 2018). Many studies found that TCM combined with radiotherapy or chemotherapy for malignant tumors could significantly reduce the incidence of adverse reactions to radiotherapy or chemotherapy and improve cellular immunity and quality of life for patients (Qi et al, 2010; Ge et al, 2016; Liu et al, 2016a,b). Herbal Medicine for Digestive System Malignancies medicine in treating DSM, and consider their possible applications, to provide a reference for treatment of DSM
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