Search

In recent years, due to advancements in medical conditions and the development of scientific research, the fundamental research of TCM antitumor treatments has progressed from the cellular level to the molecular and genetic levels. Previous studies have demonstrated the significant role of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in antitumor therapy through various mechanisms and pathways. Its mechanism of action is closely associated with cancer biology across different stages. This includes inhibiting tumor cell proliferation, blocking invasion and metastasis to surrounding tissues, inducing tumor cell apoptosis, inhibiting tumor angiogenesis, regulating immune function, maintaining genome stability, preventing mutation, and regulating cell energy metabolism. The use of TCM for eliciting antitumor effects not only has a good therapeutic effect and low side effects, it also provides a solid theoretical basis for clinical treatment and medication. This paper reviews the mechanism of the antitumor effects of TCM based on tumor characteristics. Through our review, we found that TCM not only directly inhibits tumors, but also enhances the body's immunity, thereby indirectly inducing an antitumor effect. This function aligns with the TCM theory of "strengthening the body's resistance to eliminate pathogenic factors". Furthermore, TCM will play a significant role in tumor treatment in clinical settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tumor immune escape refers to the inability of the immune system to clear tumor cells, which is one of the major obstacles in designing effective treatment schemes for cancer diseases. Although clinical studies have led to promising treatment outcomes, it is imperative to design theoretical models to investigate the long-term treatment effects. In this paper, we develop a mathematical model to study the interactions among tumor cells, immune escape tumor cells, and T lymphocyte. The chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy is also described by the mathematical model. Bifurcation analysis shows that there exists backward bifurcation and saddle-node bifurcation when the immune intensity is used as the bifurcation parameter. The proposed model also exhibits bistability when its parameters are located between the saddle-node threshold and backward bifurcation threshold. Sensitivity analysis is performed to illustrate the effects of different mechanisms on the backward bifurcation threshold and basic immune reproduction number. Simulation studies confirm the bifurcation analysis results and predict various types of treatment outcomes using different CAR T-cell therapy strengths. Analysis and simulation results show that the immune intensity can be used to control the tumor size, but it has no effect on the control of the immune escape tumor size. The introduction of the CAR T-cell therapy will reduce the immune escape tumor size and the treatment effect depends on the CAR T-cell therapy strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cancer has evolved into a substantial public health concern as the second-leading cause of mortality globally. Radiotherapy and chemotherapy have been the two most widely used cancer therapies in recent years; however, both have drawbacks. Therefore, the focus has shifted to the creation of herbal medicines, the extraction of active ingredients, replacement therapy, and the adverse effects of these medications. Ginsenoside Rh2, which is extracted from ginseng, has been identified in many cancer cells. The immune system of the body is strengthened by ginsenoside Rh2, which can also cause the proliferation, death, and differentiation of tumor cells through various pathways. For instance, it inhibits the expression of the NF- κ B signaling pathway and induces cell apoptosis, affects the expression levels of mitochondrial apoptosis proteins Bcl-2 and Bax, and cooperates with the PD-1 blockade to reactivate T cells to promote an antitumor immune response. Furthermore, ginsenosides Rh2 has the effect of reversing the toxic effect of chemotherapy drugs on normal cells, reducing myocardial damage, and relieving bone marrow function suppression. For clinical applications, it is mainly used as an adjuvant drug for preoperative neoadjuvant chemotherapy, postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy, and rescue treatment of advanced cancer. This paper summarizes the pharmacological action and mechanism of ginsenosides Rh2 in all kinds of cancer and looks forward to its future development and application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]