Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013:2013:302426.
doi: 10.1155/2013/302426. Epub 2013 Jul 11.

Therapeutic applications of herbal medicines for cancer patients

Shu-Yi Yin  1 , Wen-Chi Wei, Feng-Yin Jian, Ning-Sun Yang
Affiliations

Therapeutic applications of herbal medicines for cancer patients

Shu-Yi Yin et al. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2013.

Abstract

Medicinal herbs and their derivative phytocompounds are being increasingly recognized as useful complementary treatments for cancer. A large volume of clinical studies have reported the beneficial effects of herbal medicines on the survival, immune modulation, and quality of life (QOL) of cancer patients, when these herbal medicines are used in combination with conventional therapeutics. Here, we briefly review some examples of clinical studies that investigated the use of herbal medicines for various cancers and the development of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in this emerging research area. In addition, we also report recent studies on the biochemical and cellular mechanisms of herbal medicines in specific tumor microenvironments and the potential application of specific phytochemicals in cell-based cancer vaccine systems. This review should provide useful technological support for evidence-based application of herbal medicines in cancer therapy.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Medicinal herb “extracts” or “formulations” being tested as adjuvant treatments for chemo- or radiotherapies against various cancers.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Gerber B, Müller H, Reimer T, Krause A, Friese K. Nutrition and lifestyle factors on the risk of developing breast cancer. Breast Cancer Research and Treatment. 2003;79(2):265–276. - PubMed
    1. Shun MC, Yu W, Gapor A, et al. Pro-apoptotic mechanisms of action of a novel vitamin E analog (α-TEA) and a naturally occurring form of vitamin E (δ-Tocotrienol) in MDA-MB-435 human breast cancer cells. Nutrition and Cancer. 2004;48(1):95–105. - PubMed
    1. Wang XF, Witting PK, Salvatore BA, Neuzil J. Vitamin E analogs trigger apoptosis in HER2/erbB2-overexpressing breast cancer cells by signaling via the mitochondrial pathway. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications. 2005;326(2):282–289. - PubMed
    1. Gerber B, Scholz C, Reimer T, Briese V, Janni W. Complementary and alternative therapeutic approaches in patients with early breast cancer: a systematic review. Breast Cancer Research and Treatment. 2006;95(3):199–209. - PubMed
    1. Lesperance ML, Olivotto IA, Forde N, et al. Mega-dose vitamins and minerals in the treatment of non-metastatic breast cancer: an historical cohort study. Breast Cancer Research and Treatment. 2002;76(2):137–143. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources