Do you know the four major advantages of Chinese medicine in treating tumors?

Surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy are the three main methods for treating tumors. With the deepening of research on the prevention and treatment of cancer with traditional Chinese medicine, traditional Chinese medicine therapy now also has a place in the treatment of tumors. So what are the advantages of traditional Chinese medicine in treating tumors?

1. Increase the surgical resection rate and reduce surgical complications.

Preoperative application of Chinese medicine can control the development of cancer, reduce inflammation around the tumor, and stabilize the lesion. Some people use Chinese medicine alone to treat advanced lung cancer, and the lesion stabilization rate is about 70%. At the same time, preoperative application of Chinese medicine can also improve the functions of some organs of patients, such as liver function and heart function. This is conducive to surgical resection. Postoperative application of Chinese medicine can improve or alleviate some complications after surgery, such as low fever, sweating, fatigue, poor appetite, abdominal distension, constipation, etc., shortening the patient's postoperative recovery period. On the other hand, long-term application of Chinese medicine after recovery from surgery can not only improve physical fitness, but also avoid or reduce recurrence and metastasis, and improve long-term treatment effects. Some people reported that a group of 29 liver cancer patients, all of whom had incomplete surgical resection or had cancer thrombi in the portal vein, were treated with Chinese medicine after surgery, which reduced their recurrence rate and brought their 5-year survival rate to about 20%. In short, the use of Chinese medicine before and after surgery can improve physical fitness, increase surgical resection rates, and reduce surgical complications.

2. Prevent and treat side effects of radiation and chemotherapy

Radiotherapy for tumors can induce radiation inflammation, which is mainly manifested as "dryness", similar to the changes of damaging yin and depleting body fluid in traditional Chinese medicine. At this time, adding Chinese medicine treatment that clears away heat and detoxifies, nourishes yin and increases fluid can prevent and treat the occurrence of radiation side effects, or treat radiation inflammation. Radiotherapy of the spine or flat bones can cause bone marrow suppression. If drugs that nourish yin and kidney, nourish blood and replenish blood are added at the same time, bone marrow suppression can be avoided or alleviated. Chemotherapy kills normal cells while killing tumor cells, so the toxicity of chemotherapy drugs is also one of the drug toxins. Chinese medicine can be used to directly resolve the toxic reactions of chemotherapy. For example, Chinese medicine believes that licorice can detoxify all kinds of drugs, and Pueraria root can also kill all kinds of drug poisons. Modern pharmacological research has also confirmed that these two drugs have the function of detoxification. Chinese medicine that clears heat, detoxifies and promotes diuresis can counter some drug-induced inflammatory reactions. For example, the two medicines of money grass and Tiankuizi have the functions of clearing heat, detoxifying, promoting diuresis and relieving stranguria, so they are often used for urinary system toxic side effects caused by chemotherapy. Coptis chinensis can be used to relieve oral ulcers, vomiting, diarrhea and other side effects caused by anti-metabolism and antibiotic anticancer drugs. Chinese medicine that strengthens the spleen and stomach can alleviate digestive tract reactions, such as ginger can warm the stomach and stop vomiting. From the above, it can be seen that Chinese medicine can effectively counter the side effects caused by radiation and chemotherapy.

3. Enhance sensitivity to radiotherapy and chemotherapy

The use of Chinese medicine in combination with radiotherapy and chemotherapy has a certain synergistic effect. For example, tetrandrin extracted from Stephania tetrandra is an effective radiosensitizer. Chuanhong injection (containing Chuanxiong and safflower) and Fuzheng Zengxiao prescription (containing Astragalus, Lycium barbarum, Ligusticum chuanxiong, Radix Pseudostellariae, safflower, Sumu, etc.) can enhance the sensitization effect by improving the hypoxic state of cancer cells. Many Fuzheng Chinese medicines, when combined with chemotherapy drugs, can enhance the efficacy of chemotherapy drugs.

4. Improve survival rate and quality of life

Chinese medicine for treating malignant tumors may not be as sensitive as chemotherapy drugs, which can significantly shrink or even eliminate solid tumors in a short period of time, but the method of Chinese medicine for treating tumors is to combine syndrome differentiation with disease differentiation, and achieve the goal of "living with tumors" by stabilizing tumors and improving symptoms. In 1994, Canadian Professor Schipper proposed that effective treatment does not require complete regression of tumors, and that the body's responsiveness is the most important view in cancer treatment. This view coincides with the efficacy characteristics of Chinese medicine for treating tumors, and also explains the scientific nature of living with tumors. Taking Tang Zhaoyou's treatment of lung cancer as an example, small cell lung cancer is a chemotherapy-sensitive tumor. After intensive chemotherapy, although some patients can achieve a "CR" effect, the recurrence rate is very high, and the 5-year survival rate is still less than 10%. Some people used Chinese medicine alone to treat 100 cases of lung cancer, and the lesion stability rate was 67%~87%, and the median survival period was 9.5~13.8 months. The chemotherapy control group was 35.0~55.5% and 6.0~8.0 months respectively, and the Chinese medicine group also had certain advantages in symptoms and quality of life. Some people observed 45 cases of stage III lung cancer, and the 3-month distant metastasis rate was 28.89% in the Chinese medicine group and 62.96% in the chemotherapy control group. Modern research has also shown that the application of traditional Chinese medicine can directly inhibit cancer and eliminate residual cancer cells by improving the body's immune function and adjusting the body's internal environment, thereby preventing or delaying cancer metastasis and improving the quality of life and survival rate.