2 Practical Significance of Using Pei’s “Soft Liver and Anti-Bloating Pills” in Combination with Western Medicine to Treat PLC

2 Practical Significance of Using Pei’s “Soft Liver and Anti-Bloating Pills” in Combination with Western Medicine to Treat PLC

Currently, the treatment of PLC still focuses on eliminating the tumor, while adjusting the tumor’s and the body’s response is equally essential [13]. The main methods for eliminating tumors include surgical resection, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, interventional embolization, and radiofrequency ablation. However, each method has its pros and cons. Surgical treatment is only suitable for patients in generally good condition with a favorable Child-Pugh score. PLC has the clinical characteristics of insidious onset and rapid progression; by the time of diagnosis, it is often already in the middle or late stages, missing the opportunity for surgery. Studies have shown that palliative surgery can increase MMP2 levels, stimulating residual cancer cells to metastasize [14]. For patients who cannot undergo surgery, transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) is chosen; however, HCC is a highly vascularized malignancy, and if complete embolization is not achieved or collateral vessels form, the tumor will recur. Moreover, the hypoxic environment created by TACE can stimulate the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), leading to tumor angiogenesis and recurrence [15]. In addition, radiotherapy and radiofrequency ablation are also local therapies for tumors, with problems such as inability to completely eradicate cancer cells, easy recurrence, and metastasis. Due to the unclear pathogenesis of PLC and its complex, variable nature, chemotherapy has significant toxic side effects, poor reproducibility, and low patient quality of life, making it difficult to accept in clinical practice. Conventional treatments have reached a bottleneck, with no improvement in the five-year survival rate. For patients with advanced PLC, only palliative supportive care is available, at which point traditional Chinese medicine plays a huge role, strengthening righteous qi and consolidating the root while expelling evil without harming the righteous. This provides a practical and feasible approach for treating PLC.

Research on Pei Zhengxue’s Series of Formulas and Medicines

Clinical Study