Icariin as a potential anticancer agent: a review of its biological effects on various cancers.

Numerous chemical compounds used in cancer treatment have been isolated from natural herbs to address the ever-increasing cancer incidence worldwide. Therein is icariin, which has been extensively studied for its therapeutic potential due to its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antidepressant, and aphrodisiac properties. However, there is a lack of comprehensive and detailed review of studies on icariin in cancer treatment. Given this, this study reviews and examines the relevant literature on the chemopreventive and therapeutic potentials of icariin in cancer treatment and describes its mechanism of action. The review shows that icariin has the property of inhibiting cancer progression and reversing drug resistance. Therefore, icariin may be a valuable potential agent for the prevention and treatment of various cancers due to its natural origin, safety, and low cost compared to conventional anticancer drugs, while further research on this natural agent is needed.

[Advances in mechanism of traditional Chinese medicine in inhibiting angiogenesis in ovarian cancer].

Ovarian cancer is one of the three major cancers in gynecology. Ovarian cancer has insidious symptoms in its early stages and mostly has progressed to advanced stages when detected. Surgical treatment combined with chemotherapy is currently the main treatment, but the 5-year survival rate is still less than 45%. Angiogenesis is a key step in the growth and metastasis of ovarian cancer. The inhibition of ovarian cancer angiogenesis has become a new hotspot in anti-tumor targeted therapy, which has many advantages such as less drug resistance, high specificity, few side effects, and broad anti-tumor spectrum. Modern research has confirmed that traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) can inhibit tumor angiogenesis by inhibiting the expression of pro-angiogenic factors, up-regulating the expression of anti-angiogenic factors, inhibiting the proliferation of vascular endothelial cells, reducing the density of tumor microvessels, and regulating related signaling pathways, with unique advantages in the treatment of ovarian cancer. This paper presented a review of the role of TCM in inhibiting ovarian cancer angiogenesis in order to provide references for the optimization of clinical ovarian cancer treatment strategies.

The role of vaginal microecology in the cervical cancer.

AIM: To explore the role of vaginal microecology in cervical cancer, so as to increase the understanding of cervical cancer and lay a foundation for future large-sample clinical trials. METHODS: We reviewed and summarized the literature comprehensively, and discussed the relationship between vaginal microecology and HPV infection, CIN progression and cervical cancer, as well as the potential molecular mechanism and the prospects of probiotics and prebiotics in future cancer treatments. RESULTS: With the popularization of high-throughput sequencing technology and the development of bioinformatics analysis technology, many evidences show that the increase in the diversity of the bacterial community in the vaginal microecological environment and the decrease in the number of Lactobacilli are associated with the continuous infection of HPV and the further development of CIN, cervical cancer-related. CONCLUSIONS: Vaginal microecological imbalance has an important impact on the occurrence and development of cervical cancer. However, the pathogenesis is not completely clear, and more high-level basic research and longitudinal clinical studies are needed to verify.

Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Premature Ovarian Insufficiency: A Review of Utilization and Mechanisms.

Premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) is defined as a decline in ovarian function before the age of 40 and is one of the leading causes of infertility in women. The etiology is complex, and the pathogenesis is not clear. The main treatment is hormone replacement therapy, but a growing body of data confirms that such treatment can increase the risk of endometrial disease and cardiovascular disease. Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has been widely used in patients with POI due to its limited adverse reactions and high efficiency. According to literature reports, CAM therapy for POI mainly includes traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture, psychotherapy, dietary supplements, and exercise therapy. This article reviews the application of CAM in the treatment of POI and attempts to determine the therapeutic effects and the mechanisms behind these effects based on existing clinical and experimental studies in order to provide theoretical support for the treatment of POI.

Expression and clinical significance of miR-204 in patients with hypertensive disorder complicating pregnancy.

OBJECTIVE: Hypertensive disorder complicating pregnancy (HDCP) is a unique and common obstetrical complication in pregnancy. The current study sought to investigate the diagnostic value of serum miR-204 in HDCP patients. METHODS: A total of 196 HDCP patients were enrolled, with 54 healthy pregnant women as controls. The expression levels of miR-204 and inflammatory factors in the serum were determined. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to assess the diagnostic value of miR-204 in HDCP patients. Person coefficient was introduced to analyze the correlation between miR-204 and inflammatory indexes. Kaplan-Meier method was employed to analyze the effect of miR-204 expression on the incidence of adverse pregnancy outcomes. Logistic regression was adopted to assess the risk factors for adverse pregnancy outcomes. RESULTS: miR-204 expression was upregulated in the serum of HDCP patients. The serum miR-204 level > 1.432 could assist the diagnosis of HDCP. miR-204 level in the serum was positively correlated with TNF-α, IL-6, and hs-CRP concentrations in HDCP patients. The risk of adverse outcomes was higher in pregnant women with high miR-204 expression. High miR-204 expression was associated with an increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes after adjusting the family history of HDCP, systolic pressure, diastolic pressure, AST, ALT, LDH, 24-h urinary protein, TNF-α, IL-6, and hs-CRP. CONCLUSION: The high expression of miR-204 assists the diagnosis of HDCP and is an independent risk factor for adverse pregnancy outcomes in HDCP patients.

Insights into the Role of Oxidative Stress in Ovarian Cancer.

Oxidative stress (OS) arises when the body is subjected to harmful endogenous or exogenous factors that overwhelm the antioxidant system. There is increasing evidence that OS is involved in a number of diseases, including ovarian cancer (OC). OC is the most lethal gynecological malignancy, and risk factors include genetic factors, age, infertility, nulliparity, microbial infections, obesity, smoking, etc. OS can promote the proliferation, metastasis, and therapy resistance of OC, while high levels of OS have cytotoxic effects and induce apoptosis in OC cells. This review focuses on the relationship between OS and the development of OC from four aspects: genetic alterations, signaling pathways, transcription factors, and the tumor microenvironment. Furthermore, strategies to target aberrant OS in OC are summarized and discussed, with a view to providing new ideas for clinical treatment.

Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Dysmenorrhea Caused by Endometriosis: A Review of Utilization and Mechanism.

Endometriosis (EM) is a common and benign estrogen-dependent gynecological disorder among women of reproductive age, and secondary dysmenorrhea is one of the more severe symptoms. However, the mechanism behind the development of dysmenorrhea is poorly understood, and there is a lack of effective methods for diagnosing and treating EM dysmenorrhea. In this regard, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has recently come into widespread use due to its limited adverse reactions and high efficiency. This review updates the progress of CAM in the treatment of EM dysmenorrhea and seeks to identify the therapeutic efficacy as well as the mechanisms behind these effects based on the available clinical and experimental studies. According to the literature, CAM therapy for EM dysmenorrhea, including herbs (herbal prescriptions, extracts, and patents), acupuncture, and Chinese herbal medicine enema (CHM enema), is effective for relieving dysmenorrhea with fewer unpleasant side effects when compared to hormonal and surgical treatments. In addition, we discuss and analyze the existing gaps in the literature. We hope to provide some instructive suggestions for clinical treatment and experimental research in the future.