Review of Evidence-Based Clinical and Experimental Research on the Use of Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine for the Treatment or Adjunct Treatment of Cancer

Traditional Chinese Medicine includes acupuncture and herbal medicine. Clinical evidence indicates that acupuncture and herbal medicine can be beneficial in the treatment of cancers in people and animals. Acupuncture reduced pain or discomfort, promoted quality of life, or reduced drug-associated side-effects in cancer patients. Acupuncture also promoted the activities of humoral and cellular immunity as well as natural killer (NK) cell activity. It improved patient survival and quality of life as an adjunct with transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma and unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma, Chinese herbals improved patient survival time, quality of life, alleviation of symptoms, and decreased marrow toxicity. Some herbs together with conventional protocols (chemotherapy or surgery) demonstrated a promising outcome in lymphoma and breast cancer in both humans and dogs. The possible mechanisms of herbal anti-cancer effects include: inhibition of the metabolism of tumor cells, alteration of tumor cell membranes and information conduction, inhibition of tumor cell proliferation, induction of tumor cell apoptosis, enhancement of immune function and anticancer capabilities, inhibition of neovascularization to prevent tumor growth and metastasis, prevention of metastasis through improvement of the physical and chemical properties of blood cells, reversal of drug resistance and enhancement of the effectiveness of chemotherapy. key words: Acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, cancer, clinical application, oncology, evidence based medicine, clinical trials CHM Chinese herbal medicine HCC Hepatocellular carcinoma QOL Quality of life MST Mean survival time pRST Pain-relieving sustained time Cancer is the most common natural cause of death in dogs and cats in the United States. About 45% of dogs that live to 10 years or older die of cancer.1-2 The most common cancers in pets are lymphoma, mammary tumors (benign/ malignant), mast cell tumor (MCT), hemangiosarcoma, soft tissue sarcomas, melanoma, squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and osteosarcoma.3-5 Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been used for the diagnosis and treatment of tumors since the Warring States Period (475 to 221 BC), From: Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL (Xie), Integrative Veterinary Oncology, 2501 N 32nd Street Phoenix, AZ 85008 (Hershey), College of Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine, Agricultural University of Hebei, China (Ma) ABBREVIATIONS MCT Mast cell tumor SCC Squamous cell carcinoma TCM Traditional Chinese medicine WhO World Health Organization CRT Chemoradiation therapy (CRT) HNC Head and neck cancer PEG Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy BCRL Breast cancer-related lymphedema Nk Natural killer TACE Trans catheter arterial chemoembolization UHCC Unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma