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REVIEW article

Front. Oncol.
Sec. Gastrointestinal Cancers: Gastric and Esophageal Cancers
Volume 14 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fonc.2024.1443686

Mechanistic Insights into the Role of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Treating Gastric Cancer

Provisionally accepted
Ziqiang Chen Ziqiang Chen 1*Ting Yu Ting Yu 2*Yunhe Wang Yunhe Wang 2*佳欣 Li 佳欣 Li 1BO ZHANG BO ZHANG 1Liya Zhou Liya Zhou 1*
  • 1 Changchun University of Chinese Medicine, Changchun, China
  • 2 The Third Affiliated Clinical Hospital of Changchun University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jilin, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Gastric cancer remains a leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide, with advanced stages presenting significant challenges due to metastasis and drug resistance. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) offers a promising complementary approach characterized by holistic treatment principles and minimal side effects. This review comprehensively explores the multifaceted mechanisms by which TCM addresses gastric cancer. Specifically, we detail how TCM inhibits aerobic glycolysis by downregulating key glycolytic enzymes and metabolic pathways, thereby reducing the energy supply essential for cancer cell proliferation. We examine how TCM suppresses angiogenesis by targeting the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) pathways, effectively starving tumors of nutrients and oxygen required for growth and metastasis. Furthermore, TCM modulates the immune microenvironment by enhancing the activity of effector immune cells such as CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells and natural killer (NK) cells while reducing immunosuppressive cells like regulatory T cells (Tregs) and myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs).These actions collectively contribute to slowing tumor progression, inhibiting metastasis, and enhancing the body's antitumor response. The insights presented underscore the significant potential of TCM as an integral component of comprehensive gastric cancer treatment strategies, highlighting avenues for future research and clinical application to improve patient outcomes.

    Keywords: Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), gastric cancer, aerobic glycolysis, anti-angiogenesis, Tumor Microenvironment, Immunomodulation, Immunotherapy, Molecular markers

    Received: 04 Jun 2024; Accepted: 30 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Chen, Yu, Wang, Li, ZHANG and Zhou. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Ziqiang Chen, Changchun University of Chinese Medicine, Changchun, China
    Ting Yu, The Third Affiliated Clinical Hospital of Changchun University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jilin, China
    Yunhe Wang, The Third Affiliated Clinical Hospital of Changchun University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jilin, China
    Liya Zhou, Changchun University of Chinese Medicine, Changchun, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.