Zhang PingPing, Jia Ru, Wang Yao, Tang YuFei, Li Qi, Hou FengGang
Department of Medical Oncology, Shanghai Municipal Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Department of Medical Oncology, Shuguang Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Front Pharmacol. 2025 Aug 28;16:1633286. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1633286. eCollection 2025.
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a common and aggressive malignancy of the gastrointestinal tract with a severe disease burden. The role of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and its natural active ingredients in enhancing the therapeutic effects of radiotherapy and chemotherapy and preventing the recurrence and metastasis of CRC has been increasingly recognized. Herba has shown significant clinical efficacy for the treatment of CRC. Flavonoids has been found to be one of the main active anticancer components of Herba . This review summarizes the latest findings from clinical trials and studies on anticancer mechanisms of Herba , and discusses the role of the flavonoids in combination therapy against CRC. These flavonoids exert anticancer effects through diverse mechanisms. For instance, they prevent the development of precancerous lesions, regulate the cell cycle, modulate CRC cell proliferation, promote tumor cell apoptosis, inhibite epithelial-mesenchymal transition, reverse drug resistance, and modulate gut microbiota by acting on several key signaling pathways, such as PI3K/Akt/mTOR, Wnt/β-catenin, and EGFR/ERK/MAPK. Future research should prioritize clarifying the specific dosage and safety of flavonoids under different pathological conditions, further conducting large-scale, rigorously designed clinical studies to determine the efficacy differences of flavonoids for patients with different pathological types of CRC and simultaneously delving into the mechanisms of their anti-colorectal cancer effects, as well as their interactions with the intestinal microbiota and tumor microenvironment.
结直肠癌（CRC）是一种常见且侵袭性强的胃肠道恶性肿瘤，疾病负担严重。中医药及其天然活性成分在增强放疗和化疗疗效以及预防CRC复发和转移方面的作用已日益得到认可。某草药已显示出对CRC治疗的显著临床疗效。黄酮类化合物已被发现是该草药的主要抗癌活性成分之一。本综述总结了关于该草药抗癌机制的临床试验和研究的最新发现，并讨论了黄酮类化合物在CRC联合治疗中的作用。这些黄酮类化合物通过多种机制发挥抗癌作用。例如，它们通过作用于几个关键信号通路，如PI3K/Akt/mTOR、Wnt/β-catenin和EGFR/ERK/MAPK，来预防癌前病变的发展、调节细胞周期、调控CRC细胞增殖、促进肿瘤细胞凋亡、抑制上皮-间质转化、逆转耐药性以及调节肠道微生物群。未来的研究应优先明确黄酮类化合物在不同病理条件下的具体剂量和安全性，进一步开展大规模、设计严谨的临床研究，以确定黄酮类化合物对不同病理类型CRC患者的疗效差异，同时深入探究其抗结直肠癌作用的机制，以及它们与肠道微生物群和肿瘤微环境的相互作用。
