ABSTRACT
Clinically， the incidence and mortality of malignant tumors are relatively high， especially in underdeveloped regions or countries. In recent years， with the continuous improvement of people's health awareness， living standards and medical standards， the incidence and mortality of malignant tumors have been declining. At present， malignant tumors are mostly treated by western medicine therapies in clinic， such as surgical resection or radiation therapy， chemical drug therapy， targeted drug therapy and immunotherapy. However， patients with postoperative tumors are prone to relapse and metastasis， with severe adverse reactions and a poor prognosis. And drug resistance and other issues have a serious impact on clinical efficacy and the quality of life of patients. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that malignant tumors belong to the "accumulation" and "abdominal mass"， with both internal and external etiologies. The internal etiology is mainly the insufficient anti-pathogenic energy. The external etiology is mainly six exogenous pathogenic factors to the body seven emotional stimulations. Pathogenic factors， such as deficiencies of Qi and blood， imbalance of Yin and Yang and visceral dysfunction， which lead to the occurrence of malignant tumors. The pathogenesis is mostly based on the asthenia in origin and access in superficiality. The asthenia in origin is mainly due to the insufficient anti-pathogenic energy， with Qi stagnation， blood stasis， phlegm coagulation， and toxic knot as the symptoms. For malignant tumors， like modules， the method for softening hardness to dissipate stagnation is the first choice. Chinese herbal medicine for softening hardness to dissipate stagnation is widely used for malignant tumors in clinic， with a remarkable clinical efficacy. Therefore， in recent years， anti-tumor mechanism and clinical studies of Chinese herbal medicine for softening hardness to dissipate stagnation have become a hotspot at home and abroad. This paper combines the domestic and foreign literatures of the effect of Chinese herbal medicine for softening hardness to dissipate stagnation in treating malignant tumors in both pharmacological trials and clinical research over the past cade. The progress of the studies is reviewed， in the expectation of providing a reference for the clinical anti-tumor application of Chinese herbal medicine for softening hardness to dissipate stagnation.