ABSTRACT
Advanced cancer is a complex disease that demands treatment targeting critical organs and multiple signaling pathways. A traditional Chinese herbal formula is consisted of specic types of herbs with different pharmacological activities. Specic herbal composition that can be prescribed by experienced herbalists exerts multiple pharmacological effects that may target multiple regulatory pathways in cancerous tissues and organs. The Chinese herbal formulation known as Tien-Hsien Liquid (THL) can induce apoptosis in various cancer cells and can exert modulating activity to the immune system [1]. THL showed inhibitory effects on the migration and invasion activity of different cancer cells. It decreased the expression of MMP-2, MMP-9, and µPA and inhibited ERK1/2 activity. They showed multiarrays of activities including suppression of pulmonary metastasis of CT-26 cancer cells in mice, and inhibited the migration and tube formation of endothelial cells, and reduced the expression of MMP-2 and µPA in endothelial cells and suppressed neovascularization in mice. Besides its inhibitory effects on endothelial cells, THL attenuated hypoxia-induced HIF-1 alpha and vascular endothelial growth factor expression in vitro. In addition, THL inhibited the growth of human MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells in xenografted mice. The study suggests that the specic traditional Chinese herbal composition should have broad spectrum of anticancer activities with pharmacological effects on different vital organs and immune response for treatment of cancers to produce health benets. It is believed that mobilization of immune system with herbal medicines may play an important role in treatment of cancer and metastasis.
