Using Traditional Chinese Medicine to Treat Hepatocellular Carcinoma by Targeting Tumor Immunity

Table 2

TCM formula or mixed compounds enhance tumor immunity.

Year	Formula	Compounds contained in formula	The mode of administration	Change(s) of signal pathway involved	Change(s) of immune compounds	Ref.
2003	Bojung-bangam-tang	Agaricus mushroom, Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma, Ginseng Radix, Polyporus, Citri Pericarpium, Astragali Radix, Dioscoreae Rhizoma, Angelicae gigantis Radix, and Glycyrrhizae Radix	Oral	Th1-skew immune response ↑; Th2-skew immune response ↓	IL-12 and IFN-γ ↑; IL-4 ↓	[46]
2008	Xiaochaihu decoction	Radix bupleuri, Scutellaria baicalensis, Pinellia ternata, Chinese-date, and ginger	By gavage	None	NK and total lymphocytes ↑; spleen index ↑; thymus gland index ↓; IL-2 ↑	[47]
2011; 2012; 2013	Fuzheng-Yiliu decoction	Astragalus membranaceus, Angelica sinensis, Curcuma zedoaria, and Patrinia heterophylla	Intragastric (clinical)	None	Serum IL-2 and TNF-α ↑; thymus index ↑; total WBC and lymphocytes ↑	[48–50]
2013	Huangqi-Sijunzi decoction	Astragalus membranaceus, Codonopsis pilosula, Rhizoma Atractylodis, Poria cocos, and Glycyrrhiza	By gavage	None	NK ↑; CD4+/CD8+ T-cell ratio ↑; FOXP3+ Treg ↓	[51]
2016	Songyou yin	Astragalus membranaceus, Salvia miltiorrhiza, Lycium barbarum L., turtle shell, and hawthorn	Oral	None	CD4+ T cells ↑; FOXP3+ Treg ↓; serum TGF-β ↓	[52]
2017	Shiquan-Yuzhen decoction	Panax ginseng, Astragalus membranaceus, Rhizoma Dioscoreae, Anemarrhena asphodeloides, Radix scrophulariae, Salvia miltiorrhiza, Rhizoma sparganii, Curcuma zedoaria, fossil fragments, and concha ostreae	Intragastric	None	Thymus and spleen indices ↑; lymphocytes CD3, CD4, CD8, and TNF-α receptors ↑; IL-2 and IFN-β ↓	[53]
2017	Fuzheng-Qingjie decoction	Astragalus membranaceus, Ligustrum lucidum, Ganoderma lucidum, Rhizoma Dioscorea, Hedyotis diffusa Willd, and Prunella vulgaris	By gavage	None	Peripheral CD4+ T cells and NK cells ↑; CD4+/CD8+ T cells ratio ↑; serum IL-2 and TNF-α ↑; CD69 on tumor cells ↑	[54]
2017	JC-001	Bupleurum chinense DC., Gentiana scabra Bunge, Rheum palmatum L., Clematis montana Buch., Carthamus tinctorius L., Prunus persica (L.) Batsch, Angelica dahurica (Fisch ex Hoffm) Benth et Hook f, Siegesbeckia orientalis L., Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch, and Solanum incanum L.	In vitro; oral	None	Th1, Th2 ↑; Th17, Treg ↓; IL-6, IL-10, and TNF-α ↑; IFN-γ, IL-17, IL-3, and IL-1α ↓	[55]
2018; 2019	Ciji-Hua’ai-baosheng decoction	Radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae, Radix Codonopsis, Poria, Bulbus Fritillariae Ussuriensis, and Concha Ostreae	Intragastric	None	Thymus and spleen weight and indices ↑; IL-2, IFN-γ, and TNF-α ↑; IL-6 ↓	[56–58]
2018	NHE-06	Ficus carica, Folium ginkgo, Angelica sinensis, Lonicera japonica, Pseudo-ginseng, and Taraxacum mongolicum	Not given	NF-κB/IL-6/STAT3 ↓	IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α ↓; PTGS2 and COX-2 ↓	[59]
2019	Modified Si-Jun-Zi decoction	Codonopsis pilosula, Poria, Atractylodis Macrocephalae, and Glycyrrhizae Radix	Intragastric	Bax/Bcl-2 ↑	IL-1, IL-2, IL-3, TNF-α, GM-CSF, and IFN-γ ↑; thymus and spleen indices ↑; Bax and caspase-3 ↑; Bcl-2 ↓	[60]
2008; 2019	Jinlong capsule	Gekko, Bungarus, and Agkistrodon	Oral (meta-analysis; clinical)	None	NK, CD3+, and CD4+ cells ↑; CD4+/CD8+ T cells ratio ↑; IL-2 ↑	[61, 62]
2019	Yu-Ping-Feng san	Astragali Radix, Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma, and Saposhnikoviae Radix	Intragastric	TSLP/STAT3 ↓	TSLP ↓; VEGF ↓	[63]

IL: interleukin; IFN: interferon; NK: natural killer; TNF: tumor necrosis factor; WBC: white blood cell; CD: cluster of differentiation; Treg: regulatory T cell; TGF-β: transforming growth factor-β; NF-κB: nuclear factor-κB; STAT: signal transducer and activator of transcription; PTGS: prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase; COX: cyclooxygenase; GM-CSF: granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor; Bax/Bcl : BCL2-associated X/B-cell lymphoma; TSLP: thymic stromal lymphopoietin; VEGF: vascular endothelial growth factor.