Li DH, Wen QE, Feng RQ, Qiao C, Tian XT. Use of traditional Chinese medicine bezoars and bezoar-containing preparations in hepatocarcinoma. World J Gastrointest Oncol 2024; 16(12): 4770-4777 [DOI: 10.4251/wjgo.v16.i12.4770]
Corresponding Author of This Article
De-Hui Li, MD, Department of Oncology II, The First Affiliated Hospital of Hebei University of Chinese Medicine (Hebei Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine), Key Laboratory of Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine for Gastroenterology Research, Hebei Industrial Technology Institute for Traditional Chinese Medicine Preparation, No. 389 Zhongshan East Road, Chang’an District, Shijiazhuang 050000, Hebei Province, China. 258289951@qq.com
Research Domain of This Article
Oncology
Article-Type of This Article
Letter to the Editor
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
De-Hui Li, Department of Oncology II, The First Affiliated Hospital of Hebei University of Chinese Medicine (Hebei Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine), Key Laboratory of Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine for Gastroenterology Research, Hebei Industrial Technology Institute for Traditional Chinese Medicine Preparation, Shijiazhuang 050000, Hebei Province, China
Qian-Er Wen, Rui-Qi Feng, Chang Qiao, Xiao-Tong Tian, Graduate School, Hebei University of Chinese Medicine, Shijiazhuang 050000, Hebei Province, China
Author contributions: Li DH designed the overall concept and outline of the manuscript; Wen QE contributed to the discussion and design of the manuscript; Li DH, Wen QE, Feng RQ, and Qiao C contributed to the writing and editing of the manuscript, and the review of the literature; Wen QE and Tian XT drew pictures for the manuscript; All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Supported by2023 Government-funded Project of The Outstanding Talents Training Program in Clinical Medicine, No. ZF2023165; Key Research and Development Projects of Hebei Province, No. 18277731D; and Natural Science Foundation of Hebei Province, No. H202423105.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: De-Hui Li, MD, Department of Oncology II, The First Affiliated Hospital of Hebei University of Chinese Medicine (Hebei Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine), Key Laboratory of Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine for Gastroenterology Research, Hebei Industrial Technology Institute for Traditional Chinese Medicine Preparation, No. 389 Zhongshan East Road, Chang’an District, Shijiazhuang 050000, Hebei Province, China. 258289951@qq.com
Received: August 2, 2024 Revised: September 24, 2024 Accepted: October 18, 2024 Published online: December 15, 2024 Processing time: 101 Days and 18.7 Hours
Abstract
This manuscript used network pharmacology and experimental verification to analyze the anti-hepatocarcinoma mechanism of action of bezoars in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), discovering that it can affect the immune cells within the tumor microenvironment and related pathways to produce inhibitory effects in liver cancer. In TCM, bezoars have a unique therapeutic advantage in the prevention and treatment of tumors. They play an anti-tumorigenic role by regulating the immune microenvironment through multi-component, multi-target and multi-pathway mechanisms. With the application of nanotechnology, bezoars and their compound preparations have been developed into anti-cancer drugs with unique therapeutic advantages, providing novel treatment options for tumor patients.
Core Tip: Liver cancer seriously affects the physical and mental health of human beings. traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an important part of a comprehensive treatment plan, due to its multi-component and multi-target therapeutic characteristics and its known clinical efficacy. However, its mechanism of action is unclear. As science and technology progress and in-depth research leads to the creation of new drugs, many novel treatments for liver cancer have been developed. The research and development of TCM with anti-tumor effects is a hot spot in clinical treatment. Bezoars and bezoar preparations in TCM are known to regulate the immune microenvironment in liver cancer and inhibit the progression of liver cancer through various mechanisms. Targeting these mechanisms through the development of TCM anti-tumor agents, such as nano-bezoars, is the focus of future research.
