Anticancer Properties of Traditional Chinese Medicine

Cancer is a systemic disease. Cancer occurrence is associated with several factors, including cell proliferation, apoptosis, metastasis, tumor microenvironment and immune system. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been widely used for thousands of years in China for its anti-cancer therapeutic effect. The advantage of using TCM is related to its action on multiple signaling pathways and molecular targets related to cancer, whilst causing few adverse effects. TCM exerts its anticancer effects through multiple mechanisms, including apoptosis induction, proliferation inhibition, metastasis suppression, multidrug resistance reversal and immune function regulation. Therefore, TCM may represent a promising therapeutic approach for patients with diverse cancers.