Research Progress in Mechanism of Chinese Medicine Against Non-small Cell Lung Cancer / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ABSTRACT

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide， and about 1.6 million people die of it each year. In China， the incidence and mortality of lung cancer rank the first， as evidenced by the fact that about 780 000 people suffering from lung cancer every year， and the 5-year survival rate is less than 20%. In addition， 85% of patients with lung cancer are non-small cell lung cancer （NSCLC）， and 70% of lung cancer patients are found to have advanced cancer or tumor metastasis. The therapies of lung cancer include surgical resection， radiotherapy， chemotherapy， targeted therapy and immunotherapy. However， these therapies have certain limitations， severe toxic and side effects， and high costs. Therefore， it is urgent to find drugs with appropriate price and reliable efficacy. Traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） is the treasure of China， with more than 5 000 years of practical experience. In ancient books， there are records of therapies for lung amassment and pneumothorax， and modern studies have proved that there are many advantages， such as multiple targets， slight side effect， wide sources and reliable effects， and it is often used as an auxiliary treatment for lung cancer. The clear mechanism of TCM against lung cancer remains to be solved. The studies on the effect of TCM against NSCLC mainly start at the effective ingredients of TCM and end at the efficacy， and explore the "process"—mechanism. At present， the mechanism of TCM against NSCLC includes inducing apoptosis and autophagy of tumor cells， inhibiting the growth， proliferation， metastasis and invasion of tumor cells， which rises to molecular and genetic level. Based on the above mechanism， aiming at the effect target and pathway， this paper summarizes the literatures of the mechanism of TCM against non-small cell lung cancer in recent years， and sorted out some anti-lung cancer TCM about property， flavor and meridian-tropism on the basis of previous studies， in order to provide ideas for scholars to study the mechanism and clinical application of TCM in resisting lung cancer， and references for the studies of the correlation between the lung cancer as well as property， flavor and meridian-tropism.