The Chinese herb Xiaoaiping protects against breast cancer chemotherapy-induced alopecia and other side effects: a randomized controlled trial

Mechanism of Marsdenia tenacissima in treating breast cancer by targeting the MAPK signaling pathway: Utilising metabolomics, network pharmacology, and In vivo experiments for verification

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Marsdenia tenacissima dried stems have been used to treat asthma, trachitis, rheumatism, and carbuncles. M. Tenacissima extract is now available in China under the brand name "Xiao Ai Ping" and is commonly used in conjunction with chemotherapy to treat a number of diseases, including liver cancer, gastric cancer, colon cancer, and non-small cell lung cancer.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The research focused on the potential mechanisms contributing to the in vivo therapeutic effects on breast cancer using the ethyl acetate portion of M. tenacissima extract (EMTE), demonstrating significant promise in treating lung cancer in our initial experiments.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We examined the impact of EMTE on the growth of breast cancer through experiments on homoplastic breast cancer mice. Moreover, we utilized UPLC-Q-TOF/MS analysis to identify the components of EMTE and anticipate its potential therapeutic targets. Through network pharmacology, we predicted the potential targets and pathways affected by EMTE in relation to breast cancer. Additionally, we analysed the metabolic changes induced by EMTE during its anti-breast cancer effects.

RESULTS

The MAPK pathway was identified as the most likely route by which EMTE could influence breast cancer through network pharmacological enrichment of pathways. Research on animals showed that EMTE could successfully inhibit the development of breast tumours in the homoplastic breast cancer mouse model. We observed that EMTE treatment affected the metabolism of breast cancer mice, particularly in the biosynthesis of phenylalanine, tyrosine, tryptophan, linoleic acid metabolism, and pyrimidine metabolism. These metabolic alterations may have contributed to the effects of glycolysis, tumour immune evasion, and pyrimidine de novo synthesis.

CONCLUSION

Based on the results of network pharmacological and metabolomic analysis, we postulate that the inhibition of the MAPK/ERK pathway may have played a role in promoting apoptosis in breast cancer cells and confirmed relevant protein expression of the MAPK/ERK signaling pathway with Western blotting in tumour tissue of homoplastic breast cancer mice.

Effectiveness of Chinese Herbal Medicine as a Complementary Treatment for Neutropenia Prevention and Immunity Modulation During Chemotherapy in Patients With Breast Cancer: Protocol for a Real-World Pragmatic Clinical Trial

BACKGROUND

In recent years, advancements in cancer treatment have enabled cancer cell inhibition, leading to improved patient outcomes. However, the side effects of chemotherapy, especially leukopenia, impact patients' ability to tolerate their treatments and affect their quality of life. Traditional Chinese medicine is thought to provide complementary cancer treatment to improve the quality of life and prolong survival time among patients with cancer.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) as a complementary treatment for neutropenia prevention and immunity modulation during chemotherapy in patients with breast cancer.

METHODS

We will conduct a real-world pragmatic clinical trial to evaluate the effectiveness of CHM as a supplementary therapy to prevent neutropenia in patients with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy. Patients will be classified into CHM or non-CHM groups based on whether they received CHM during chemotherapy. Using generalized estimating equations or repeated measures ANOVA, we will assess differences in white blood cell counts, absolute neutrophil counts, immune cells, and programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) expression levels between the 2 groups.

RESULTS

This study was approved by the research ethics committee of Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital (IRB 110-168-A). The enrollment process began in September 2021 and will stop in December 2024. A total of 140 patients will be recruited. Data cleaning and analysis are expected to finish in the middle of 2025.

CONCLUSIONS

Traditional Chinese medicine is the most commonly used complementary medicine, and it has been reported to significantly alleviate chemotherapy-related side effects. This study's findings may contribute to developing effective interventions targeting chemotherapy-related neutropenia among patients with breast cancer in clinical practice.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

International Traditional Medicine Clinical Trial Registry ITMCTR2023000054; https://tinyurl.com/yc353hes.

INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID)

DERR1-10.2196/55662.

The feasibility of using the compound kushen injection to treat cervical cancer based on network pharmacology and transcriptomics

BACKGROUND

To investigate the molecular targets and mechanisms of compound kushen injection (CKI) in the prevention and treatment of cervical cancer based on network pharmacology and transcriptomics.

METHODS

In this study, we used network pharmacology methods to screen for effective compounds, integrated the results of network pharmacology and RNA-seq to comprehensively screen and predict target genes, analyze the biological functions and signaling pathways of target genes, and construct a PPI network to screen for hub genes. The results were further verified by biological experiments, molecular docking, RT-PCR, and western blot analysis.

RESULTS

The results showed that the hub genes CXCL2, anti-vascular endothelial growth factor, hexokinase 2 are therapeutic targets of CKI for the treatment of Cervical Cancer. These targets were significantly enriched in pathways mainly including pathways in cancer, cell cycle, MAPK signaling pathways, etc. In vitro cell experiments showed that CKI could effectively inhibit the proliferation of cancer cells, promote apoptosis, and induce cell cycle arrest. RT-PCR and western blot experiments showed that the expression of hub genes was significantly decreased. The compounds have good binding activity to hub genes.

CONCLUSION

CKI, based on its active ingredients and through multiple targets and multiple pathways, can stop the growth of cervical cancer cells at a certain phase of the cell cycle and cause apoptosis, which proved CKI's effect in treating cervical cancer.

Chemotherapy: how to reduce its adverse effects while maintaining the potency?

Chemotherapy is one of the widely used anticancer treatments that involves the use of powerful cytotoxic drugs to stop tumor growth by targeting rapidly dividing cells through various mechanisms, which will be elucidated in this review. Introduced during the early twentieth century, chemotherapy has since lengthened the longevity of innumerable cancer patients. However, the increase in lifespan is at the expense of quality of life as patients are at risk of developing short-term and long-term side effects following chemotherapy, such as alopecia (hair loss), chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, cardiotoxicity, diarrhea, infertility, and chemo brain. Currently, a number of these chemotherapy-induced adverse effects are managed through supportive care and approved treatments, while the rest of the side effects are unavoidable. Hence, chemotherapeutic drugs associated with inevitable side effects are only administered when their therapeutic role outweighs their chemotoxicity, thus severely limiting the potency of chemotherapy in treating malignancy. Therein, the potential approaches to alleviating side effects of chemotherapy ranging from pharmaceutical drugs to alternative therapies will be discussed in this review in hopes of increasing the tolerance and effectiveness of future chemotherapeutic treatments.

Medicinal herbs in treating chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting: A review

Cancer development entangles with mutation and selection for cells that progressively increase capacity for proliferation and metastasis at the cellular level. Surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy are the standard treatments to manage several types of cancer. Chemotherapy is toxic for both normal and cancer cells and can induce unfavorable conditions, such as chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV), that reduce patients' quality of life. Emesis after chemotherapy is categorized into two classes acute and delayed. Since ancient times, herbal medicines have been used in various cultures to manage stomachache, vomiting, and nausea. In this manuscript, the antiemetic mechanisms of several herbal medicines and their preparations such as Zingiber officinale (5-HT, NK-1 receptor and muscarinic antagonist activity), Mentha spicata (5-HT antagonist activity), Scutellaria baicalensis (antioxidant activity), Persumac (useful in delayed phase through antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-contractile properties) and Rikkunshito (supportive in acute and delayed phase through 5-HT receptor antagonist activity) have been reviewed to show their potential effects on decreasing CINV and attract scientists attention to formulate more herbal medicine to alleviate CINV in cancer patients. However, it is crucial to say that additional high-quality investigations are required to firmly verify the clinical effectiveness and safety of each plant/compound.

Influence of Traditional Chinese Medicine on Medical Adherence and Outcome in Estrogen Receptor (+) Breast Cancer Patients in Taiwan: A Real-World Population-Based Cohort Study

BACKGROUND

Medical adherence is often higher in clinical trials than in real world practice. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) on medical adherence to hormonal therapy (HT) and survival outcome in ER (+) breast cancer patients in Taiwan.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

Using a nationwide longitudinal population-based database, we enrolled patients with newly diagnosed ER-positive breast cancer who had received HT, and followed for up to 5 years (N = 872). Medication adherence in terms of medication possession ratios (MPR) and patient outcome were evaluated with or without TCM exposure. We applied logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards (PH) analysis to identify factors, including TCM exposure, associated with adherence to HT and mortality.

RESULTS

MPR to HT in general decreased over the 5-year period post breast cancer diagnosis. Both TCM and MPR to HT ≥ 80% were significantly associated with reduced risk of breast cancer-associated mortality. Subgroup analysis revealed that TCM annual visits ≥ 3 times with CHP prescription 1~90 days per year affected mortality reduction most significantly (HR: 0.26; 95% CI = 0.08-0.83; p < 0.05) compared to other TCM use. In contrast, using TCM (either short-term or long-term) was not associated with MPR in HT.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results supported the potential advantage of TCM on breast cancer-associated mortality, whereas TCM use does not compromise medical adherence to HT. This study offers important insights in integrative therapy for HT in patients with estrogen receptor (+) breast cancer.

Chinese Herbal Medicine for Reducing Chemotherapy-Associated Side-Effects in Breast Cancer Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background

Chemotherapy usually induces a variety of side-effects in cancer treatment as it cannot tell normal cells apart from cancer cells and kills both. Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) has been regarded as a potential effective intervention for relieving the side-effects of chemotherapy in breast cancer patients.

Objective

This study aims to conduct a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy of CHM as adjuvant therapy for reducing the chemotherapy-induced side-effects in the treatment of breast cancer.

Methods

Main electronic databases were searched up to May 2020 for Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) evaluating the effect of CHM on breast cancer patients with chemotherapy. The PRISMA statement was adopted in this study and meta-analyses were performed.

Results

The included studies showed unsatisfied quality. Results based on available literature indicated that the adjunctive use of CHM with chemotherapy may reduce the chemotherapeutic agents-associated adverse events, including nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, alopecia, myelosuppression, and impaired immune function.

Conclusion

A confident conclusion could not be have due to the lack of large scale and high quality trials.

Chinese herbal medicine promote tissue differentiation in colorectal cancer by activating HSD11B2

BACKGROUND

Colorectal cancer is a common malignant tumor of the digestive tract. In recent years, the incidence rate has increased year by year and is showing a younger trend. The application of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) is one of the important methods for the treatment of colorectal cancer. CHM refers to the main therapeutic drugs based on traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), which is still valued. Many effective anticancer small-molecule compounds are derived from CHMs, and their effective anticancer ingredients and targets must be clarified and to further understand the molecular mechanisms by which CHM affects cancer.

METHODS

We analyzed the ingredients in CHM that were found to be effective against colorectal cancer and constructed an interaction network among these ingredients and the target protein. By analyzing the number of connections in the network and their type of interaction, we identified the key target protein Corticosteroid 11-beta-dehydrogenase isozyme 2, the enzyme encoded by HSD11B2. Analyses of HSD11B2 expression, survival curve, and co-expressed genes helped clarify the correlation between HSD11B2 and colorectal cancer as well as its underlying molecular mechanism.

RESULTS

We determined that the anticancer ingredients contained in Sanguisorba officinalis, Patrinia scabiosaefolia, and Smilax china had more connections to the target proteins found in colorectal cancer. In the interaction network, eight small-molecule compounds had an activating effect on HSD11B2. The expression of the HSD11B2 was markedly decreased in colorectal cancer tissues and was positively correlated with the overall survival time of patients. In addition, co-expression analyses showed a close relationship between HSD11B2 and tissue-specific genes in colorectal tissues. The expression levels of HSD11B2 in well-, moderately, and poorly differentiated tissues progressively decreased.

CONCLUSION

The HSD11B2 protein was a key CHM target for treating colorectal cancer. The key role of CHM may lie in activating HSD11B2 and further promoting tissue differentiation in colorectal cancer.

Efficacy and safety of Xiaoaiping injection for liver cancer: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Xiaoaiping injection, extracted from the Chinese herb Marsdenia tenacissima (Roxb.) Wight et Arn., is a broad-spectrum anti-tumor drug and has been widely used for the treatment of liver cancer in China. The aim of this study is to systematically investigate the efficacy and safety of Xiaoaiping injection for the treatment of liver cancer.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

Seven electronic databases including the Cochrane Library, PubMed, Excerpt Medica Database, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, China Scientific Journal Database, and Wanfang Database will be systematically retrieved for data extraction from their inceptions to August 2020. Cochrane Risk of Bias tool will be used to assess the risk of bias of included studies. The RevMan 5.4 and Stata 16.0 software will be applied for statistical analyses. Statistical heterogeneity will be computed by I tests. Sensitivity analysis will be conducted to evaluate the stability of the results. The publication bias will be evaluated by funnel plots and Eggers test. The quality of evidence will be assessed by the GRADE system.

RESULTS

The results of our research will be published in a peer-reviewed journal.

CONCLUSION

The conclusion of this study will provide helpful evidence of the effect and safety of Xiaoaiping injection for the treatment of liver cancer in clinical practice.

OSF REGISTRATION NUMBER

10.17605/OSF.IO/9BD6A.

Efficacy and safety of Xiaoaiping injection for breast cancer: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Xiaoaiping injection, extracted from the Chinese herb Marsdenia tenacissima (Roxb.) Wight et Arn., is a broad-spectrum anti-tumor drug and has been widely used for the treatment of breast cancer in China. The aim of this study is to systematically investigate the efficacy and safety of Xiaoaiping injection for the treatment of breast cancer.

METHODS

We will perform the comprehensive literature search in the following databases from their inceptions to August 2020 for data extraction: PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Embase, the China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Database, Chinese Science and Technology Periodical Database, and Chinese Biomedical Literature Database. Cochrane Risk of Bias tool will be used to assess the risk of bias of included studies. The RevMan 5.4 and Stata 16.0 software will be applied for statistical analyses. Statistical heterogeneity will be computed by I2 tests. Sensitivity analysis will be conducted to evaluate the stability of the results. The publication bias will be evaluated by funnel plots and Egger's test. The quality of evidence will be assessed by the GRADE system.

RESULTS

The results of our research will be published in a peer-reviewed journal.

CONCLUSION

The conclusion of this study will provide evidence to show whether Xiaoaiping injection is an effective intervention for patient with breast cancer.

OSF REGISTRATION NUMBER

10.17605/OSF.IO/4ZUXC.

Advances in Molecular Mechanisms for Traditional Chinese Medicine Actions in Regulating Tumor Immune Responses

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been developed for thousands of years with its various biological activities. The interest in TCM in tumor prevention and treatment is rising with its synergistic effect on tumor cells and tumor immunosuppressive microenvironment (TIM). Characteristic of TCM fits well within the whole system and multi-target cancer treatment. Herein we discuss the underlying mechanisms of TCM actions in TIM via regulating immunosuppressive cells, including restoring the antigen presentation function of dendritic cells, enhancing NK cells-mediated killing activity, restraining the functions of myeloid cell-derived suppressor cells, and inhibiting cancer-associated fibroblasts. TCM also regulates tumor progression through enhancing immune response, preventing immune escape and inducing cell death of tumor cells, which triggers immune response in nearby cells. In addition, we discuss TCM in clinical applications and the advantages and disadvantages of TCM in cancer prevention and treatment, as well as current therapeutic challenges and strategies. It might be helpful for understanding the therapeutic potential of TCM for cancer in clinic.

Xiaoaiping injection as adjunct therapy for patients with advanced esophageal carcinoma: A protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Esophageal carcinoma (EC) is one of the worst malignant digestive neoplasms with a strong tendency of invasion and metastasis. Despite the improvement of diagnostic and therapeutic methods in the past decades, the prognosis of EC remains unsatisfactory. Xiaoaiping injection (XAPI), a famous traditional Chinese herbal medicine, has been widely applied as a promising adjunctive drug for EC. However, the exact effects and safety of XAPI have yet to be systematically investigated. We aimed to summarize the efficacy and safety of XAPI for the treatment of advanced EC through the meta-analysis, in order to provide scientific reference for the design of future clinical trials.

METHODS

Relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were searched from Cochrane Library, PubMed, Google Scholar, Web of Science, Excerpt Medica Database, Medline, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, China Scientific Journal Database and Wanfang Database. Papers in English or Chinese published from January 2000 to May 2020 will be included without any restrictions.Study selection and data extraction will be performed independently by 2 investigators. The clinical outcomes including overall response rate, complete response rate, overall survival, Disease-free survival, quality of life, immune function and adverse events, were systematically evaluated. Review Manager 5.3 and Stata 14.0 were used for data analysis, and the quality of the studies was also evaluated.

RESULTS

The results of this study will be published in a peer-reviewed journal, and provide more evidence-based guidance in clinical practice.

CONCLUSION

Our study will draw an objective conclusion of the effects of XAPI combined with conventional treatment for advanced EC and provide a helpful evidence for clinicians to formulate the best postoperative adjuvant treatment strategy for EC patients.

INPLASY REGISTRATION NUMBER

INPLASY202050094.

Tenacissoside H Induces Apoptosis and Inhibits Migration of Colon Cancer Cells by Downregulating Expression of GOLPH3 Gene

Objective

Tenacissoside H (TDH) is a Chinese medicine monomer extracted from Marsdenia tenacissima extract (MTE), which has been confirmed to have antitumor effects, but its mechanism is still unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect and mechanism of TDH on human colon cancer LoVo cell proliferation and migration and explore the correlation of TDH treatment with the expression of GOLPH3 and cell signaling pathways in LoVo cells.

Methods

LoVo cells were treated with TDH at 0.1, 1, 10, and 100 μg/mL for 24, 48, and 72 h. The proliferation rate of LoVo cells was evaluated by MTT assay. Recombinant plasmid p-CMV-2-GOLPH3 was constructed, and p-CMV-2-GOLPH3 and p-CMV-2 empty plasmids were transfected into LoVo cells by lipofection. Western blotting was used to detect the transfection efficiency and the expression of p-p70S6K, p70S6K, β-catenin, and GOLPH3. The apoptosis rate was analyzed with Annexin V-FITC/PI double-staining method, and cell migration assessed by transwell assay.

Results

TDH inhibited the proliferation of LoVo cells in a concentration-dependent manner. The IC50 of TDH treatment in LoVo cells at 24, 48, and 72 h was 40.24, 13.00, and 5.73 μg/mL, respectively. TDH treatment significantly induced apoptosis and suppressed the viability and migration of human colon cancer LoVo cells. The effect of TDH on induction of apoptosis and inhibition of migration in LoVo cells decreased significantly after activating the PI3K/AKT/mTOR and Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathways with agonists. Additionally, the expression of GOLPH3 protein downregulated significantly in LoVo cells under TDH treatment. Overexpression of the GOLPH3 gene increased the expression of key proteins in PI3K/AKT/mTOR and Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathways and blocked the antitumor activity of TDH.

Conclusion

Collectively, the present results indicated that TDH can inhibit the proliferation vitality of colon cancer LoVo cells through downregulating GOLPH3 expression and activity of PI3K/AKT/mTOR and Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathways.