Synergistic Effect and Molecular Mechanisms of Traditional Chinese Medicine on Regulating Tumor Microenvironment and Cancer Cells

Table 1

Several clinical studies have confirmed the effectiveness of TCM in cancer treatment.

Drug	Type of cancer	Phase	Method	Interventions		Outcomes	Cite
				Control group	Treatment group
Ginsenoside Rg3	NSCLC	Clinical stages II/IIIa, postoperative patients	RCT, not blinded; 4–6 cycles	Chemotherapy (NP/CE/GP)	Shenyi capsule, or it combines with chemotherapy	Improves the life span of patients	[7]
Cantharidinate	NSCLC	Middle-late stage	RCT, not blinded; 4 cycles	GP	Combines with cantharidinate	Improves clinical effects and life quality, lowers the toxic/adverse effects of chemotherapy	[8]
Astragalus polysaccharide	NSCLC	Clinical stages IIIB or IV advanced disease	RCT, not blinded; 3 cycles	Vinorelbine and cisplatin	Combines with APS	Improves patients’ QOL	[9]
Xiaoaiping	Breast cancer	Neoadjuvant chemotherapy	RCT, not blinded; duration, 12 weeks	TEC neoadjuvant chemotherapy	Combines with Xiaoaiping injection	Significantly enhances short-term and long-term efficacies of neoadjuvant chemotherapy	[10]
Atractylenolide I	Gastric cancer	Cachexia patients	RCT, not blinded; duration, 7 weeks	Nutritional supplementation	Adds atractylenolide I	Improves appetite and KPS status and decreases PIF positive rate	[11]
Jianpi Huayu therapy	Hepatocellular carcinoma	Firstly treated patients	RCT, not blinded; duration, 1 year	Hepatectomy and conventional western medicine treatment	Combines with Jianpi Huayu therapy	Reduces postoperative recurrence and metastasis, improves DFS and OS	[12]
Huachansu	Gallbladder carcinoma	Locally advanced or metastatic	Not RCT, not blinded, continued until termination events	Gemcitabine-oxaliplatin	Combines with Huachansu injection	Makes chemotherapy well tolerated and improves the QOL of patients	[13]
Curcumin	Colorectal cancer	Liver metastases	Escalation trial, 12 cycles of chemotherapy	FOLFOX chemotherapy	Combines with curcumin	Prolongs median PFS and improves treatment response	[14]
Compound Zhebei granules	Acute leukemia	Posttreatment and defined as refractory	RCT, double-blind and multicentral concurrent control, 14 days	Multiple chemotherapeutic schemes	Combines with compound Zhebei granules	Increases the clinical remission rate	[15]