Tong Cheng, Wu Yue, Wu Renzhao
First People's Hospital of Linping District, Hangzhou, China.
The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University (Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine), Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Front Immunol. 2025 Aug 27;16:1616872. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1616872. eCollection 2025.
The treatment of tumors remains one of the most challenging issues in modern medicine. For a long time, surgical intervention and radiochemotherapy were the primary methods employed to combat tumors; however, the therapeutic outcomes often fell short of expectations. Immunotherapy offers a promising alternative by enhancing the patient's immune system's ability to recognize and eliminate tumor cells while minimizing damage to normal cells and tissues. This advancement has brought new hope for cancer patients. In recent years, significant progress has been made in tumor immunotherapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), particularly Programmed Cell Death Protein-1 (PD-1)/Programmed Cell Death-Ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitors. An increasing number of researchers have discovered that combination therapy involving PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors alongside chemotherapeutic agents or other types of ICIs yields more pronounced effects compared to monotherapy. Nevertheless, there remains a considerable risk of developing resistance and experiencing various adverse events. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is frequently utilized as an adjunctive treatment for tumors due to its potential to enhance overall immune function in patients. Recent studies indicate that combining TCM with PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors can significantly improve median survival times for patients, undoubtedly providing new directions for cancer treatment, however, there remains a lack of sufficient large-sample prospective controlled studies to provide evidence supporting the combined treatment of traditional Chinese medicine and immune checkpoint inhibitors for tumors. This study summarizes recent research on the combined use of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors with chemotherapeutic drugs, other ICIs, or TCM in cancer therapy. The aim is to explore their synergistic mechanisms and clinical application value while drawing greater attention from scholars to the significant value of traditional Chinese medicine in the combined treatment strategies for tumors. Additionally, this research provides insights into future prospects for anti-tumor research within TCM.
肿瘤治疗仍然是现代医学中最具挑战性的问题之一。长期以来，手术干预和放化疗是对抗肿瘤的主要方法；然而，治疗效果往往不尽如人意。免疫疗法通过增强患者免疫系统识别和消除肿瘤细胞的能力，同时将对正常细胞和组织的损害降至最低，提供了一种有前景的替代方法。这一进展为癌症患者带来了新的希望。近年来，免疫检查点抑制剂（ICIs），特别是程序性细胞死亡蛋白1（PD-1）/程序性细胞死亡配体1（PD-L1）抑制剂在肿瘤免疫治疗方面取得了重大进展。越来越多的研究人员发现，与单一疗法相比，将PD-1/PD-L1抑制剂与化疗药物或其他类型的ICIs联合使用能产生更显著的效果。然而，仍然存在产生耐药性和出现各种不良事件的相当大风险。由于其有可能增强患者的整体免疫功能，传统中医（TCM）经常被用作肿瘤的辅助治疗。最近的研究表明，将中医与PD-1/PD-L1抑制剂联合使用可以显著提高患者的中位生存时间，无疑为癌症治疗提供了新的方向，然而，仍然缺乏足够的大样本前瞻性对照研究来提供支持中医与免疫检查点抑制剂联合治疗肿瘤的证据。本研究总结了近年来关于PD-1/PD-L1抑制剂与化疗药物、其他ICIs或中医联合用于癌症治疗的研究。目的是探索它们的协同机制和临床应用价值，同时让学者们更加关注中医在肿瘤联合治疗策略中的重要价值。此外，本研究还为中医抗肿瘤研究的未来前景提供了见解。
