Recent studies indicate that
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) can play an important role in the whole course of
cancer treatment such as recovery stages of post-operative,
radiotherapy or
chemotherapy stages instead of only terminal stage of
cancer. In this review, we have summarized current evidence for using TCM as adjuvant
cancer treatment in different stages of
cancer lesions. Some TCMs (e.g., TJ-41,
Liu-jun-zi-tang,
PHY906,
Coumarin, and Aescine) are capable of improving the post-operative symptoms such as
fatigue,
pain, appetite,
diarrhea,
nausea,
vomiting, and
lymphedema. Some TCMs (e.g., Ginseng,
Huang-Qi, BanZhiLian, TJ-48,
Huachansu injection,
Shenqi fuzheng injection, and
Kanglaite injection) in combination with chemo- or radio-
therapy are capable of enhancing the efficacy of and diminishing the side effects and complications caused by chemo- and
radiotherapy. Taken together, they have great advantages in terms of suppressing
tumor progression, relieving surgery complications, increasing the sensitivity of chemo- and radio-
therapeutics, improving an organism's immune system function, and lessening the damage caused by surgery, chemo- or radio-
therapeutics. They have significant effects on relieving
breast cancer-related lymphedema, reducing
cancer-related
fatigue and
pain, improving
radiation pneumonitis and gastrointestinal side effects, protecting liver function, and even ameliorating bone marrow suppression. This review of those medicines should contribute to an understanding of Chinese
herbal medicines as an adjunctive
therapy in the whole course of
cancer treatment instead of only terminal stage of
cancer, by providing useful information for development of more effective anti-
cancer drugs and making more patients "survival with
cancer" for a long time.