Pathogenesis and Treatment of Colorectal Cancer in Traditional Chinese Medicine
大肠癌中医病机与治疗研究

Colorectal cancer remains the third most common malignancy worldwide. According to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), colorectal cancer is related to spleen-deficiency, damp-heat and toxicity accumulation. TCM has been confirmed to effectively reduce toxic side effects of chemotherapy, palliate clinical syndrome, improve quality of life, and prevent recurrence and metastasis in colorectal cancer. However, TCM theoretical and syndrome differentiation study has lagged far behind due to progression of therapy model in colorectal cancer. As a type of drug treatment, there are some common biological basis between chemotherapy, targeted therapy and anti-cancer herb therapy in colorectal cancer, such as apoptosis, cellular senescence and autophagy. There are growing needs to explore the effect mechanism and compatibility of anti-cancer herbs, to further enhance the efficacy of TCM treatment in colorectal cancer.