🌿 Folk Prescriptions

Primary hepatocellular carcinoma (hereafter referred to as liver cancer) is one of the most common malignant tumors in China. Western medicine attributes the disease primarily to viral hepatitis, aflatoxin, water pollution, and chemical carcinogens, with treatment mainly involving surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and biological therapy. In traditional Chinese medicine, based on symptoms and signs, liver cancer is categorized under "liver accumulation," "zheng jia," "hard mass," "lower bleeding accumulation," "jizhong," "guzhang," "piqi," and "pibu," among others.
In recent years, due to advancements in diagnostic and therapeutic techniques, prognosis for liver cancer has improved somewhat. However, numerous studies report that over 80% of cases are diagnosed at intermediate or late stages, with high mortality rates. Many clinical researchers have found that integrated Chinese and Western medicine treatment can effectively improve survival rates in liver cancer patients, enabling smooth completion of radiotherapy and chemotherapy, warranting serious attention in clinical practice.
Advantages of Traditional Chinese Medicine Treatment
Currently, clinical practice generally adopts syndrome differentiation and treatment with traditional Chinese medicine to assist Western medicine in treating liver cancer. Chen Ning from the Xi’an Armed Police Hospital analyzed prescriptions used over the past decade for advanced liver cancer and found that methods emphasizing blood-activating and stasis-resolving, heat-clearing and toxin-removing, and spleen-strengthening and qi-tonifying were used most frequently, at rates of 92.1%, 84.3%, and 79.9%, respectively.
Many clinical studies show that traditional Chinese medicine often achieves unique effects in treating inoperable liver cancer. Xu Jiping et al. from the Zhejiang Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine adopted a method of soothing the liver, regulating qi, and tonifying the kidneys to treat 81 patients with inoperable advanced liver cancer. Results showed that immune indicators significantly improved in the herbal medicine group, while declining in the chemotherapy group. Survival time was 8.9 months in the herbal medicine group versus 6.2 months in the chemotherapy group, with statistically significant differences. Pan Minqiu et al. from the Affiliated Hospital of Hunan Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine used methods of strengthening the spleen and regulating qi, resolving stasis and softening hard masses, and clearing heat and detoxifying to treat 136 patients with advanced liver cancer, dividing them into a Chinese medicine compound group and a chemotherapy group. Results showed 0.5-year and 1-year survival rates of 54.5% and 21.1% in the herbal group versus 30.4% and 4.3% in the chemotherapy group, with tumor stability rates of 77.8% and 37.0%, respectively. This suggests that Chinese medicine can stabilize tumors and prolong survival.
Additionally, after years of clinical research, several effective Chinese patent medicines have been identified. One report described the use of elemene via hepatic artery intervention in 71 patients with primary liver cancer, achieving a short-term effective rate of 56.3% with low toxicity. Another study used hydroxycamptothecin, cantharidin, and cisplatin via hepatic artery embolization for inoperable liver cancer, with interferon-α (IFN-α) and interleukin-2 (IL-2) administered via splenic artery infusion as controls. Partial remission rates were 54.2% and 32.1%, respectively, with 0.5-year and 1-year survival rates of 100% and 63.6%. Peng Zhengshun et al. from the Second Affiliated Hospital of Jiangxi Medical College treated 20 stage III liver cancer patients whose condition worsened after laparotomy and hepatic artery chemotherapy with compound Danshen injection via hepatic artery perfusion. The total effective rate in relieving symptoms, shrinking tumors, and improving biochemical markers was 65%, compared to 25% in the Western medicine control group, with significant differences. One-year and two-year survival rates were 35% and 10% in the Chinese-Western medicine group versus 15% and 0% in the Western medicine group, indicating that Chinese medicine significantly extended patient lifespan.
Integrated Approach Is Inevitable
Despite the variety of treatment options for liver cancer, no method currently exists to effectively save lives. Extensive practice confirms that comprehensive treatment, particularly integrated Chinese and Western medicine, is an effective pathway to improve outcomes. Previously, comprehensive treatment mainly applied to intermediate and late-stage liver cancer patients ineligible for surgery. Today, the concept has expanded considerably, encompassing three main aspects: preoperative and postoperative comprehensive treatment for resectable liver cancer to prevent recurrence and metastasis; palliative surgery for unresectable cases followed by further anti-cancer therapy to extend survival with tumors; and comprehensive treatment for inoperable cases, which may shrink tumors allowing secondary resection or prolong survival with tumors. Academician Wu Mengchao of the Chinese Academy of Sciences emphasized that comprehensive treatment for liver cancer should adhere to two principles: maximizing complementary benefits among therapies and avoiding antagonism or additive side effects. He stressed that when selecting multimodal treatments, one must consider toxicity and impact on liver function, and place importance on the role of traditional Chinese medicine.
Professor Wang Jin-hong from Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine noted that treating liver cancer with TCM follows the holistic view, adjusting dysfunctional organ functions, correcting imbalances in qi, blood, and yin-yang, enhancing disease resistance, alleviating clinical symptoms, fighting cancer and reducing tumors, managing complications, and synergizing with radiotherapy and chemotherapy to reduce toxicity and enhance sensitivity—without directly killing cancer cells. Combined with Western medicine’s ability to directly kill cancer cells, this offers mutual benefits. The fundamental principle of TCM in treating malignant tumors is balancing treatment of symptoms and root causes, combining reinforcement of vital energy with elimination of pathogenic factors, prioritizing reinforcement of vital energy. Of course, extracting effective anticancer components from herbs and developing new, highly effective, low-toxicity anticancer drugs is also valuable.
In summary, throughout the entire process of liver cancer treatment, guided by TCM theory, integrating syndrome differentiation and disease differentiation with modern medical technology, and rationally and systematically applying existing treatment modalities, the holistic advantages of TCM can be leveraged to enhance sensitivity to radiotherapy and chemotherapy, minimize toxic side effects, and reduce recurrence and metastasis. The integration of Chinese and Western medicine, mutually complementing strengths, should be advocated in clinical liver cancer treatment.