Chen Xiao, Zheng Tiansheng, Hao Bingjie, Lin Shumeng, Yue Liduo, Fan Lihong
Department of Oncology, School of Medicine, Nantong University, Nantong, China.
Institute of Energy Metabolism and Health, Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
J Cancer. 2025 Jun 5;16(8):2595-2612. doi: 10.7150/jca.109420. eCollection 2025.
Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is one of the most important and therapeutically significant targets in most cancer treatments, and EGFR-targeted therapy is widely performed to treat various tumors, such as non-small cell lung cancer. Although EGFR-targeted therapy has fewer side effects than conventional chemotherapy, they have limited applications and are prone to drug resistance. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), are promising solutions to address these challenges because of their biological activities, such as inhibition of EGFR-related signaling pathways, reversal of drug resistance, and mitigation of side effects of targeted therapy. Moreover, TCM is characterized by multiple targets, few side effects and good therapeutic effect Here, we summarized several typical traditional Chinese medicine monomers derived from traditional Chinese medicine that can be used along with EGFR inhibitors, as well as herbal plants with potential for natural product development and TCM. We focused on their mechanisms of action underlying the reversal of drug resistance, enhancement of drug efficacy, and mitigation of side effects; we also assessed relevant clinical studies that are available. However, the potential adverse effects (e.g., drug-drug interactions, hepatotoxicity, and immune-related side effects) of TCMs along with EGFR inhibitors need to be further investigated. This article provided new perspectives on the use of TCMs in EGFR-targeted therapy and emphasized the importance of safety assessment in future studies.
表皮生长因子受体（EGFR）是大多数癌症治疗中最重要且具有显著治疗意义的靶点之一，EGFR靶向治疗被广泛用于治疗各种肿瘤，如非小细胞肺癌。尽管EGFR靶向治疗的副作用比传统化疗少，但其应用有限且容易产生耐药性。中药因其具有抑制EGFR相关信号通路、逆转耐药性和减轻靶向治疗副作用等生物学活性，有望成为应对这些挑战的解决方案。此外，中药具有多靶点、副作用少和治疗效果好的特点。在此，我们总结了几种可与EGFR抑制剂联合使用的源自中药的典型中药单体，以及具有天然产物开发潜力的草药植物和中药。我们重点关注了它们在逆转耐药性、增强药物疗效和减轻副作用方面的作用机制；我们还评估了现有的相关临床研究。然而，中药与EGFR抑制剂联合使用的潜在不良反应（如药物相互作用、肝毒性和免疫相关副作用）仍需进一步研究。本文为中药在EGFR靶向治疗中的应用提供了新的视角，并强调了未来研究中安全评估的重要性。
