ABSTRACT
Cancer is a major global public health problem. Statistics from the national cancer center of China also show that cancer has become a major disease threatening human health with increasing morbidity and mortality. The occurrence and development mechanism of cancer is complex， involving multiple stages， multiple genes and multiple signaling pathways. Conventional chemoradiotherapy and emerging targeted therapy methods are the main methods in treatment of tumor. However， the quality of life of patients as well as the sustained and effective therapeutic effect are seriously affected due to the toxic side effects and drug resistance. Therefore， it is the global focus to find safe and effective anti-cancer drugs. The research and development and application of anti-cancer herbal medicines such as paclitaxel， vinblastine， podophyllin， ginsenoside and ginseng polysaccharide have brought new hope for the treatment of cancer. Cucurbitacine from Chinese medicine cucurbitaceae plantsare is a kind of highly oxidized tetracyclic triterpene compound with extensive pharmacological effects and complex mechanism. In the family of cucurbitacines， cucurbitin B， D， E and I have been studied most frequently on anticancer effect， and in a large number of studies， they have been found to play an important role in tumor diseases of the digestive system， respiratory system， reproductive system， blood system， urinary system and so on. With significant effect in inhibiting tumor cells proliferation， blocking the cell cycle， inducing apoptosis and autophagy death， inhibiting cell migration and invasion， inhibiting tumor angiogenesis， regulating the levels of reactive oxygen species and regulating immune system， such cucurbitacins are expected to be developed as a new kind of anti-cancer drugs. The authors of this study aim to provide reference for the further research and development of new anti-cancer drugs about cucurbitines by summarizing the anti-tumor effect and mechanism of the cucurbitacins.
ABSTRACT
Esophageal cancer has a high morbidity and mortality worldwide， and the burden of esophageal cancer is still heavy in China. The conventional treatments such as radiotherapy and chemotherapy fail to yield a satisfactory outcome， implying that the safe and effective treatments are not available for the majority of patients. At present， esophageal cancer is mainly treated by Chinese medicine combined with radiotherapy and chemotherapy. The retrieval of related papers in Chinese and English reveals that Kang'ai injection， Compound Kushen injection， Kanglaite injection， Xiaoaiping injection， Aidi injection， Bruceae Fructus Oil Emulsion， Cinobufotalin injection， and Shenmai injection have been commonly used in esophageal cancer treatment. These eight injections are either single medicinal or compound preparations， involving 11 Chinese medicinals， which synergize the effects of radiotherapy and chemotherapy and reduce their adverse reactions in the treatment of esophageal cancer. Due to the complexity of Chinese medicinal components， a series of adverse reactions such as phlebitis， phlebosclerosis， and hemolysis may be caused by irrational dosage， administration speed， and compatibility in the use of injection. There are many clinical studies on Chinese medicine injections for anti-esophageal cancer but few studies on their active components and molecular mechanism. This paper reviewed the active components， effectiveness， safety， and mechanism of Chinese medicine injections frequently employed for treating esophageal cancer， in order to provide reference for their clinical application as well as the development of new Chinese drugs.