%0 Journal Article
%T Interaction of a traditional Chinese Medicine (PHY906) and CPT-11 on the inflammatory process in the tumor microenvironment
%A Ena Wang
%A Scott Bussom
%A Jinguo Chen
%A Courtney Quinn
%A Davide Bedognetti
%A Wing Lam
%A Fulan Guan
%A Zaoli Jiang
%A Yichao Mark
%A Yingdong Zhao
%A David F Stroncek
%A Jeffrey White
%A Francesco M Marincola
%A Yung-Chi Cheng
%J BMC Medical Genomics
%D 2011
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1755-8794-4-38
%X Using a systems biology approach, we studied tumor tissue to identify reasons for the enhancement of the antitumor effect of CPT-11 (CPT-11) by PHY906 in a well-characterized pre-clinical model; the administration of PHY906 and CPT-11 to female BDF-1 mice bearing subcutaneous Colon 38 tumors.We observed that 1) individually PHY906 and CPT-11 induce distinct alterations in tumor, liver and spleen; 2) PHY906 alone predominantly induces repression of transcription and immune-suppression in tumors; 3) these effects are reverted in the presence of CPT-11, with prevalent induction of pro-apoptotic and pro-inflammatory pathways that may favor tumor rejection.PHY906 together with CPT-11 triggers unique changes not activated by each one alone suggesting that the combination creates a unique tissue-specific response.Although traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been applied for thousands of years in Asia, its recognition by Western countries rests upon objective documentation of its value. To date, no systematic evaluation of TCM has provided conclusive proof of efficacy, though several studies suggest beneficial applications in certain patient populations [1]. In cancer patients, TCM has been applied predominantly to control cancer-associated symptoms or decrease treatment-related toxicity. However, it was observed that some herbal products display anticancer properties [2]. Most TCM products currently used in cancer therapy display a broad range of biological effects including pro-apoptotic activity, inhibition of angiogenesis and boosting of immune response. For instance, it was recently observed that a significant proportion of ginseng's biological activity in vivo is exerted through modulation of innate immunity [3].PHY906 is a TCM formulation that has been used for the last 1,800 years to treat distressing conditions of the gastrointestinal tract. Several preclinical animal models tested the ability of PHY906 to increase the therapeutic window of chemotherapy by decre
%U http://www.biomedcentral.com/1755-8794/4/38