The American journal of Chinese medicine
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Review
Ferroptosis: A New Research Direction of Artemisinin and Its Derivatives in Anti-Cancer Treatment.
Ferroptosis, an iron-dependent cell death mechanism driven by an accumulation of lipid peroxides on cellular membranes, has emerged as a promising strategy to treat various diseases, including cancer. Ferroptosis inducers not only exhibit cytotoxic effects on multiple cancer cells, including drug-resistant cancer variants, but also hold potential as adjuncts to enhance the efficacy of other anti-cancer therapies, such as immunotherapy. In addition to synthetic inducers, natural compounds, such as artemisinin, can be considered ferroptosis inducers. ⋯ Artemisinin and artemisinin derivatives (ARTEs) upregulate intracellular free iron levels and promote the accumulation of intracellular lipid peroxides to induce cancer cell ferroptosis, alleviating cancer development and resulting in strong anti-cancer effects in vitro and in vivo. In this review, we introduce the mechanisms of ferroptosis, summarize the research on ARTEs-induced ferroptosis in cancer cells, and discuss the clinical research progress and current challenges of ARTEs in anti-cancer treatment. This review deepens the current understanding of the relationship between ARTEs and ferroptosis and provides a theoretical basis for the clinical anti-cancer application of ARTEs in the future.
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Globally, cervical cancer poses a substantial public health challenge, with low and middle-income countries bearing the highest burden [Rajkhowa, P., D. S. Patil, S. ⋯ This paper reviews the research progress of TCM in cervical cancer. In addition, we reported a case of an advanced cervical cancer patient with multiple abdominal and pelvic metastasis who initially received chemotherapy, was then treated with TCM alone, and subsequently survived for 22 years. The model of whole-process management with TCM can enable more cancer patients to obtain longer survival periods.
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Review
Luteolin: A Comprehensive and Visualized Analysis of Research Hotspots and its Antitumor Mechanisms.
The aim of this study was to analyze the research hotspots and mechanisms of luteolin in tumor-related fields using bibliometric and bioinformatic approaches to guide future research. We conducted a comprehensive screening of all articles on luteolin and tumors in Web of Science from 2008 to 2023. The extracted words from these publications were visualized using VOSviewer, Scimago Graphica, and CiteSpace. ⋯ A total of 483 overlapping genes between luteolin and tumors were identified, and they were closely associated with the cancer-associated pathways, PI3K-Akt, and MAPK signaling pathways. Luteolin forms a complex network of antitumor-related genes, with TP53, TNF, STAT3, AKT1, JUN, IL6, and SRC playing key roles and showing strong binding affinity to luteolin. Computer technology is becoming increasingly integral to the discipline, and future research will focus on more precise antitumor mechanisms and effective clinical applications.
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Liver fibrosis is a common complication of chronic liver disease, significantly affecting patients' quality of life and potentially leading to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Despite advancements in modern medicine, the treatment of liver fibrosis remains limited and challenging. Thus, identifying new therapeutic strategies is of great clinical importance. ⋯ The active ingredients in these medicines can inhibit hepatic inflammatory responses and fibrotic processes by interfering with these pathways, thus reducing the severity of liver fibrosis. This paper aims to investigate the mechanisms of Chinese medicine in treating liver fibrosis and its modulation of related signaling pathways. Additionally, it discusses the prospects of the clinical application of these treatments and provides valuable references for further research and clinical practice.
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Acupuncture is widely accepted as a therapeutic treatment by patients and healthcare providers globally. The safety record has been well established in acupuncture practice although some rare adverse events (AEs) were reported in the literature. While acupuncture-related AEs are generally defined as any undesirable event that occurs in patients during acupuncture treatment that may or may not be associated with the treatment, acupuncture-related adverse reactions (ARs) are defined as any undesirable or harmful reaction induced by trained practitioners practicing acupuncture treatment with standard doses. ⋯ Moreover, other serious AEs, like needle breakage, are mostly due to aggressive manipulation and repeated reheating. Importantly, most acupuncture-related AEs are preventable. To avoid such AEs, acupuncturists in clinical practice should carefully select needling areas, be aware of cautions and contraindications of acupuncture, maintain safe acupuncture depth and hygiene, and strictly adhere to standard operating procedures.