Progress in clinical research on the integration of Chinese and Western medicines for treating primary liver cancer

Primary liver cancer (PLC) is one of the most common malignant tumors in China. PLC is characterized by insidious onset, rapid progress, poor quality of life, and short survival time. Notably, current treatment strategies remain unsatisfactory. Traditional Chinese medicines (TCM) have been used to treat a variety of diseases, including liver diseases, for more than 2000 years. In this study, we performed a review of the use frequency and clinical efficacy of TCM in treating PLC. Relevant literature from January 1, 2009, to January 1, 2021 was retrieved from network databases of China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Chongqing VIP, Wanfang, PubMed, and SinoMed. The most frequently used TCM and their efficacy in PLC treatment were summarized. Based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 33 articles were selected. Overall, the efficacy of the combination of TCM and Western medicines in the treatment of PLC was higher than that in the control groups (i.e. treatment with Western medicines alone) (65.11% vs. 44.31%, P < .05). Among the 33 selected articles, 11 were investigated for TCM preparation (marketed drugs) and 22 for TCM formulas. In total, 102 types of TCM (single herbs) were used to treat PLC. The top five most frequently used TCM were Poria (14.71%), Astragali radix (13.73%), Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma (12.75%), Bupleuri radix (12.75%), and Glycyrrhizae radix et Rhizoma (11.76%). Of the 102 types of TCM, tonics were the most frequently used categories, followed by heat-clearing medicines, blood-invigorating medicines, and stasis-resolving medicines. Of 207 papers, 174 (84.06%) could not be subjected to statistical analysis due to research quality. Further high-quality research on herb sources, formula components and dosage, toxicology, and ethics of TCM is necessary. In conclusion, TCM play a promising role in the treatment and management of PLC, although further investigations are warranted.