Pleiotropic effects of herbs characterized with blood-activating and stasis-resolving functions on angiogenesis / 中国结合医学杂志

Accumulative evidences have underpinned the nature candidates from Chinese medicine (CM), particularly CM served as blood activating and stasis resolving (BASR, Huoxue Huayu in Chinese) by targeting tumor-associated angiogenesis. However, recent experiment research on the therapeutic angiogenesis by BASR-CM attracts wide attention and discussion. This opinion review focused on the underlying link between two indications and anticipated that (1) BASR-CM might emphasize on a balanced multi-cytokines network interaction; (2) BASR-CM might address on the nature of diseases prior to differently affecting physiological and pathological angiogenesis; (3) BASR-CM might mainly act on perivascular cells, either promotes arteriogenesis by increasing arteriogenic factors in ischemic diseases, or simultaneously keep a quiescent vasculature to impede angiogenesis in tumor context.

Clinical Analysis of Preoperative Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy by Thalidomide Combined with Gefitinib for Non-small Cell Lung Cancer / 昆明医科大学学报

Objective To investigate the clinical effect of preoperative neoadjuvant chemotherapy by thalidomide combined with gefitinib for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients and provide clinical basis for NSCLC therapy.Methods From 2011/1 to 2013/1,we collected 160 NSCLC cases in our hospital and divided them into 2 groups randomly,80 cases in control group and 80 cases in observation group.The patients in the control group were treated with conventional surgical treatment and patients in the observation group were treated with preoperative neoadjuvant chemotherapy by thalidomide combined with gefitinib before surgery.The clinical effects,the 6 months and 1 year survival rates,and the toxicity effects were observed,and the clinical effects and survival rates between the 2 groups were compared.Results The observation group had a therapeutic efficiency ratio (TER) of 80.0％ which was significantly higher than the control group (50.0％),and the difference was statistically significant (P＜0.05).The 6 months survival rate and 1 year survival rate were 97.5％ and 92.5％,which were both significantly higher than those of control group (87.5％ and 77.5％),and all differences were statistically significant (P＜0.05).The toxicity effects of observation group were lower.Conclusions Preoperative neoadjuvant chemotherapy by thalidomide combined with gefitinib for NSCLC therapy is effective and safe,which is worthy of study and further application in clinical treatment..

Effect of aqueous extracts of several kinds of herbs on human platelet aggregation and expression of P-selectin in vitro / 中国结合医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the effect of aqueous extract of several kinds of herbs on human platelet aggregation and expression of P-selectin in vitro.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Blood was collected from volunteers. Effects of the prepared water extracts of herbs on platelet aggregation were monitored on a Packs-4 aggregometer. The fluorescence intensity of water extracts of Caulis Spatholobi, Flos Carthami and Rhizoma Curcumae on the expression of P-selectin in human platelets of healthy persons was measured with flow cytometry.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Out of several herbs investigated, Flos Carthami and Rhizoma Curcumae potently inhibited platelet aggregation after incubation with platelet-rich plasma (PRP) for 15 min. Caulis Spatholobi Flos Carthami and Rhizoma Curcumae inhibited adenosine-5'-diphosphate (ADP) or platelet activating factor (PAF)-induced platelet aggregation in PRP in a dose-dependent manner. In contrast to Flos Carthami and Rhizoma Curcumae, Caulis Spatholobi could not inhibit thrombin-induced platelet aggregation. Despite its inability to inhibit thrombin-induced platelet aggregation in PRP, Caulis Spatholobi had a greater anti-aggregating activity in PRP induced by ADP or PAF. Caulis Spatholobi and Flos Carthami showed significant inhibitory effects on the expression of P-selectin.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Caulis Spatholobi, Flos Carthami and Rhizoma Curcumae have potent anti-platelet properties, and their inhibitory actions are mediated via different mechanisms. Caulis Spatholobi inhibited ADP-induced platelet aggregation but not by thrombin, indicating that its mechanism of action might be independent of the thromboxane pathway. The effect of Caulis Spatholobi and Flos Carthami were associated with suppressing the expression of P-selectin.</p>

Tumor-associated macrophages: a novel potential target for cancer treatment / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

Special emphasis about cancer metastasis was concentrated on tumor cells themselves, and we usually considered the ability of migration and invasion was the final decider. Recently, bewaring of tumor microenvironment is a fundamental determinant in metastasis has become the most outstanding breakthrough. Considerable "microbes" in the microenvironment are closely linked with tumor metastatic behaviors, and the major proportion of them is tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs). Actually, TAMs conserve immediate "cross-talk" with cancer cells throughout tumor development. It is generally accepted that TAMs have mostly pro-tumoral functions and play an important role in several stages of tumor progression. This progression involves a series of events that leads from the primary site to the metastatic site, including tumor cell growth, angiogenesis, migration, invasion, intravasation and finally extravasation at distant site where the process begins again (metastasis). Thereby, TAMs has attracted substantial attentions in recent years and could become a promising therapeutic strategy. In this review, we focus on the multi-functions of TAMs in cancer and certain drugs targeting TAMs for cancer treatment those are under experimental research procedures or have even been entered human clinical tests.