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Anticancer effects of Chinese herbal medicine, science or myth?

Journal of Zhejiang University SCIENCE B volume 7, pages 1006–1014 (2006)Cite this article

Abstract

Currently there is considerable interest among oncologists to find anticancer drugs in Chinese herbal medicine (CHM). In the past, clinical data showed that some herbs possessed anticancer properties, but western scientists have doubted the scientific validity of CHM due to the lack of scientific evidence from their perspective. Recently there have been encouraging results, from a western perspective, in the cancer research field regarding the anticancer effects of CHM. Experiments showed that CHM played its anticancer role by inducing apoptosis and differentiation, enhancing the immune system, inhibiting angiogenesis, reversing multidrug resistance (MDR), etc. Clinical trials demonstrated that CHM could improve survival, increase tumor response, improve quality of life, or reduce chemotherapy toxicity, although much remained to be determined regarding the objective effects of CHM in human in the context of clinical trials. Interestingly, both laboratory experiments and clinical trials have demonstrated that when combined with chemotherapy, CHM could raise the efficacy level and lower toxic reactions. These facts raised the feasibility of the combination of herbal medicines and chemotherapy, although much remained to be investigated in this area.

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Author information

Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310006, China

    Ruan Wen-jing & Lai Mao-de

  2. Department of Dermatology, the Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310009, China

    Zhou Jian-guang

Authors
  1. Ruan Wen-jing
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  2. Lai Mao-de
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  3. Zhou Jian-guang
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lai Mao-de.

Additional information

Project (No. 011107607) supported by the Science and Technology Foundation Grant of Zhejiang Province, China

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Ruan, Wj., Lai, Md. & Zhou, Jg. Anticancer effects of Chinese herbal medicine, science or myth?. J. Zhejiang Univ. - Sci. B 7, 1006–1014 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1631/jzus.2006.B1006

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1631/jzus.2006.B1006

Key words

  • Chinese herbal medicine
  • Anticancer

CLC number

  • R28
  • R979.1