Title:Targeting Tumor Immunosuppressive Microenvironment for the Prevention of Hepatic Cancer: Applications of Traditional Chinese Medicines in Targeted Delivery
VOLUME: 20 ISSUE: 30
Author(s):Le-Yi Zhang, Jun-Gang Zhang, Xue Yang, Mao-Hua Cai, Cheng-Wu Zhang* and Zhi-Ming Hu*
Affiliation:Department of General Surgery, Chun’an First People’s Hospital (Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital Chun’an Branch), Hangzhou 311700, Zhejiang Province, Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Zhejiang Provincial People’s Hospital (People’s Hospital of Hangzhou Medical College), Hangzhou 310014, Zhejiang Province, Key Laboratory of Tumor Molecular Diagnosis and Individualized Medicine of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang Provincial People’s Hospital (People’s Hospital of Hangzhou Medical College), Hangzhou 310014, Zhejiang Province, Department of General Surgery, Chun’an First People’s Hospital (Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital Chun’an Branch), Hangzhou 311700, Zhejiang Province, Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Zhejiang Provincial People’s Hospital (People’s Hospital of Hangzhou Medical College), Hangzhou 310014, Zhejiang Province, Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Zhejiang Provincial People’s Hospital (People’s Hospital of Hangzhou Medical College), Hangzhou 310014, Zhejiang Province
Keywords:Traditional chinese medicine, Immunosuppressing, Targeting strategies, Tumor microenvironment, Hepatocellular
carcinoma, Immunomodulation, Angiogenesis inhibitors.
Abstract:Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is one of the ancient and most accepted alternative medicinal
systems in the world for the treatment of health ailments. World Health Organization recognizes
TCM as one of the primary healthcare practices followed across the globe. TCM utilizes a holistic approach
for the diagnosis and treatment of cancers. The tumor microenvironment (TME) surrounds cancer
cells and plays pivotal roles in tumor development, growth, progression, and therapy resistance.
TME is a hypoxic and acidic environment that includes immune cells, pericytes, fibroblasts, endothelial
cells, various cytokines, growth factors, and extracellular matrix components. Targeting TME using targeted
drug delivery and nanoparticles is an attractive strategy for the treatment of solid tumors and recently
has received significant research attention under precise medicine concept. TME plays a pivotal
role in the overall survival and metastasis of a tumor by stimulating cell proliferation, preventing the
tumor clearance by the immune cells, enhancing the oncogenic potential of the cancer cells, and promoting
tumor invasion. Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) is one of the major causes of cancer-associated
deaths affecting millions of individuals worldwide each year. TCM herbs contain several bioactive phytoconstituents
with a broad range of biological, physiological, and immunological effects on the system.
Several TCM herbs and their monomers have shown inhibitory effects in HCC by controlling the TME.
This study reviews the fundamentals and applications of targeting strategies for immunosuppressing
TME to treat cancers. This study focuses on TME targeting strategies using TCM herbs and the molecular
mechanisms of several TCM herbs and their monomers on controlling TME.
