Herbal Medicine Offered as an Initiative Therapeutic Option for the Management of Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Herbal Medicine Offered as an Initiative Therapeutic Option for the Management of Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Phytother Res. 2016 Feb 15;

Authors: Chen SR, Qiu HC, Hu Y, Wang Y, Wang YT

Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common malignant cancer and is the third leading cause of death worldwide. Effective treatment of this disease is limited by the complicated molecular mechanism underlying HCC pathogenesis. Thus, therapeutic options for HCC management are urgently needed. Targeting the Wnt/β-catenin, Hedgehog, Notch, and Hippo-YAP signaling pathways in cancer stem cell development has been extensively investigated as an alternative treatment. Herbal medicine has emerged as an initiative therapeutic option for HCC management because of its multi-level, multi-target, and coordinated intervention effects. In this article, we summarized the recent progress and clinical benefits of targeting the above mentioned signaling pathways and using natural products such as herbal medicine formulas to treat HCC. Proving the clinical success of herbal medicine is expected to deepen the knowledge on herbal medicine efficiency and hasten the adoption of new therapies. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

PMID: 26879574 [PubMed – as supplied by publisher]