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Background: Helicobacter pylori (HP), the most common pathogenic microorganism in the stomach, can induce inflammatory reactions in the gastric mucosa, causing chronic gastritis and even gastric cancer. HP infection affects over 4.4 billion people globally, with a worldwide infection rate of up to 50%. The multidrug resistance of HP poses a serious challenge to eradication. It has been de-monstrated that compared to bismuth quadruple therapy, Qingre Huashi decoction (QHD) combined with triple therapy exhibits comparable eradication rates but with a lower incidence of adverse reactions; in addition, QHD can directly inhibit and kill HP in vitro., Aim: To explore the effect and mechanism of QHD on clinically multidrug-resistant and strong biofilm-forming HP., Methods: In this study, 12 HP strains were isolated in vitro after biopsy during gastroscopy of HP-infected patients. In vitro , the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values for clinical HP strains and biofilm quantification were determined through the E-test method and crystal violet staining, respectively. The most robust biofilm-forming strain of HP was selected, and QHD was evaluated for its inhibitory and bactericidal effects on the strain with strong biofilm formation. This assessment was performed using agar dilution, E-test, killing dynamics, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The study also explored the impact of QHD on antibiotic resistance in these HP strains with strong biofilm formation. Crystalline violet method, scanning electron microscopy, laser confocal scanning microscopy, and (p)ppGpp chromatographic identification were employed to evaluate the effect of QHD on biofilm in strong biofilm-forming HP strains. The effect of QHD on biofilm and efflux pump-related gene expression was evaluated by quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Non-targeted metabolomics with UHPLC-MS/MS was used to identify potential metabolic pathways and biomarkers which were different between the NC and QHD groups., Results: HP could form biofilms of different degrees in vitro , and the intensity of formation was associated with the drug resistance of the strain. QHD had strong bacteriostatic and bactericidal effects on HP, with MICs of 32-64 mg/mL. QHD could inhibit the biofilm formation of the strong biofilm-forming HP strains, disrupt the biofilm structure, lower the accumulation of (p)ppGpp, decrease the expression of biofilm-related genes including LuxS , Spot , glup (HP1174), NapA , and CagE , and reduce the expression of efflux pump-related genes such as HP0605, HP0971, HP1327 , and HP1489 . Based on metabolomic analysis, QHD induced oxidative stress in HP, enhanced metabolism, and potentially inhibited relevant signaling pathways by upregulating adenosine monophosphate (AMP), thereby affecting HP growth, metabolism, and protein synthesis., Conclusion: QHD exerts bacteriostatic and bactericidal effects on HP, and reduces HP drug resistance by inhibiting HP biofilm formation, destroying its biofilm structure, inhibiting the expression of biofilm-related genes and efflux pump-related genes, enhancing HP metabolism, and activating AMP in HP., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors declare that they have no competing interest to disclose., (©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.)

In order to pilot a study observing the feasibility of applying the Core Quality of Life Questionnaire (QLQ-C30) version 2.0 to assess the quality of life (QOL) of patients with NSCLC treated with Feiji Recipe, a randomized, parallel controlled clinical trial was conducted in the university-affiliated hospital. Seventy inpatients who met the inclusion criteria were randomized into the study, and 60 cases were available as subjects for QOL data analysis. The subjects were randomly assigned to one of three groups: the Feiji Recipe group (A); the Feiji Recipe combined with chemotherapy group (B); and the chemotherapy group (C) in which the patients were treated with vinorelbine plus cisplatin (NP) or gemcitabine plus cisplatin (GP). QOL was assessed with the Chinese version of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire C30. Sixty cases that finished the questionnaires were analyzed, and we found that patients who received chemotherapy had low QOL, in terms of their global health, role, emotional, social, economic status and symptom burden including fatigue, nausea and vomiting, dyspnea, loss of appetite and abnormal bowel movements. Simultaneous treatment with Feiji Recipe and chemotherapy was able to prevent the worsening of function in terms of role, social, fatigue and global health. The Core Quality of Life Questionnaire (QLQ-C30) version 2.0 can be used to evaluate the QOL of patients with NSCLC treated by Chinese herbal medicine. Feiji Recipe might partially improve the QOL of NSCLC patients when administered alone or in combination with chemotherapy. No unexpected side effects were observed. However, further double-blinded placebo controlled studies are strongly recommended.

Objective: To observe the effects of Feiji Formula, a compound traditional Chinese herbal medicine, on lung cancer metastasis in mice., Methods: The lung cancer metastasis model of mice was established in this experiment study. Twenty-four mice were randomly divided into three groups: untreated group, cisplatin group and Feiji Formula group. Mice in the Feiji Formula group were treated with Feiji Formula decoction; in cisplatin group, with cisplatin by intraperitoneal injection; and in the untreated group, with normal saline (NS). After twenty-day treatment, the body and tumor weights as well as the number of metastatic tumors in both lungs of each mouse were measured., Results: The body weight of mice in cisplatin group was significantly less than that of Feiji Formula group and untreated group (P<0.01); the tumor weight of mice in cisplatin group and Feiji Formula group was markedly lower than that of untreated group (P<0.01); and the number of metastatic tumors in cisplatin group and Feiji Formula group was markedly lower than that of the untreated group (P<0.01), no significant difference between the Feiji Formula group and cisplatin group in terms of the weights and the numbers of metastatic tumors in bilateral lungs., Conclusion: Feiji Formula can suppress tumor growth and decrease the number of lung metastatic tumors in the mice, and maintain the body weight of the mice.

Aim: To study the inhibitory effect of Huqi San (Qi-protecting powder) on rat prehepatocarcinoma induced by diethylinitrosamine (DEN) by analyzing the mutational activation of c-fos proto-oncogene and over-expression of c-jun and c-myc oncogenes., Methods: A Solt-Farber two-step test model of prehepatocarcinoma was induced in rats by DEN and 2-acetylaminofluorene (AAF) to investigate the modifying effects of Huqi San on the expression of c-jun, c-fos and c-myc in DEN-mediated hepatocarcinogenesis. Huqi San was made of eight medicinal herbs containing glycoprival granules, in which each milliliter contains 0.38 g crude drugs. gamma-glutamy-transpeptidase-isoenzyme (gamma-GTase) was determined with histochemical methods. Level of 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (OHdG) formed in liver and c-jun, c-fos and c-myc proto-oncogenes were detected by immunohistochemical methods., Results: The level of 8-OHdG, a mark of oxidative DNA damage, was significantly decreased in the liver of rats with prehepatocarcinoma induced by DEN who received 8 g/kg body weight or 4 g/kg body weight Huqi San before (1 wk) and after DEN exposure (4 wk). Huqi San-treated rats showed a significant decrease in number of gamma-GT positive foci (P < 0.001, prevention group: 4.96 +/- 0.72 vs 29.46 +/- 2.17; large dose therapeutic group: 7.53 +/- 0.88 vs 29.46 +/- 2.17). On the other hand, significant changes in expression of c-jun, c-fos and c-myc were found in Huqi San-treated rats., Conclusion: Activation of c-jun, c-fos and c-myc plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of liver cancer. Huqi San can inhibit the over-expression of c-jun, c-fos and c-myc oncogenes and liver preneolastic lesions induced by DEN.

Objective: To evaluate the intervention effect of Feiji Recipe (FJR) on tumor immune escape., Methods: In the prospective randomized control study, 60 cases of middle stage and advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with qi-yin deficiency syndrome were randomly assigned to the treatment group and the control group, 30 in each group. The levels of CD+ CD25+ Tr, interleukin-10 (IL-10), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), sCD44v6 and transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) of peripheral blood were observed before and after treatment, and the clinical efficacy of FJR was evaluated depending upon the changes in tumor size, Karnofsky Performance scoring (KPS) and TCM syndrome., Results: (1) The levels of CD4+ CD2+Tr, VEGF, sCD44v6, TGF-beta1, and IL-10 decreased, in the treatment group as compared with those in the control group, respectively. (2) The stabilization rate of tumor in the treatment group was superior to that in the control group (78.26% vs 50.00%, P < 0.05). (3) The stabilization rate of KPS increasing in the treatment group and the control group was 76.67% and 43.33% respectively, suggesting the improvement of KPS in the treatment group was superior to that in the control group (P < 0.01). (4) Improvement in TCM qi-yin deficiency syndrome was more significant in the treatment group than that in the control group., Conclusion: FJR can stabilize the tumor body, improve the clinical symptoms of middle stage and advanced NSCLC with qi-yin deficiency syndrome, promote patients' quality of life, and is effective in recovering immuno-surveillance and intervening immune escape of lung cancer through multi-pathway to enhance the clinical therapeutic efficacy.