2.3.1 Strengthening the Spleen and Replenishing Qi

2.3.1 Strengthening the Spleen and Replenishing Qi

Spleen deficiency is a common syndrome in liver cancer, and many contemporary physicians advocate using the method of strengthening the spleen and replenishing qi to treat it. Zhou Zhenhua et al. found in a hepatocellular carcinoma tumor-bearing model that after treatment with a spleen-strengthening and qi-replenishing formula (composed of codonopsis pilosula, poria cocos, and atractylodes macrocephala), the apoptosis-related gene Bax was highly expressed in liver tumor cells, indicating that this formula can significantly inhibit the growth of liver cancer. Its mechanism for promoting apoptosis in liver cancer cells may be related to upregulating Bax gene expression. Cai Yuwen et al. [5] studied a spleen-strengthening and qi-regulating formula (composed of astragalus, ginseng, fried atractylodes macrocephala, poria cocos, bupleurum, and angelica sinensis), which can regulate the oncogene Bcl-2 and the tumor-suppressor gene P53, inducing apoptosis in liver cancer cells. Xing Xiaojing et al. [54] used a spleen-strengthening and qi-regulating formula to treat HepG2 liver cancer cells, exploring the mechanism by which traditional Chinese medicine compound formulas strengthen the spleen and regulate qi to treat liver cancer. They found that such formulas can significantly inhibit the proliferation of human liver cancer cells and induce apoptosis. Zhang Hui et al. [55] utilized bioinformatics resources to study how the spleen-strengthening and qi-replenishing method downregulates the cDNA sequences of genes highly expressed in DEN-induced rat liver cancer, successfully cloning seven new cDNA sequences that can be significantly regulated by this method.