TCM herbal formula yang he hua yan decoction found to prevent mammary tumorigenesis

Researchers from Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine investigated the mechanism-based chemopreventive potential of a Chinese herbal formula called yang he hua yuan (YHHY) decoction using a 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA)-induced rat mammary carcinogenesis model. The results of their study appeared in the journal BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

• The development of safe and effective chemopreventive agents is an effective strategy in reducing the morbidity and mortality of breast cancer.
• To examine the anticancer potential of YHHY decoction, the researchers orally administered the medicine (10 mg/mL) to female rats once a day one week before and four weeks after DMBA treatment.
• They monitored the development of mammary tumor every day. They defined the length of time before a palpable tumor was noticed as tumor-free survival time.
• They used high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to identify major chemical compositions of the YHHY decoction.
• They performed bioinformatics data mining and experimental analyses to demonstrate the underlying mechanism of action of YHHY decoction.
• The researchers reported that DMBA-treated rats that received YHHY treatment exhibited a significant delay and, in some animals, prevention of tumor occurrence without obvious toxicity.
• YHHY treatment also suppressed oncogenic myc activation significantly in the DMBA-induced rats.
• The researchers identified eight major chemical compounds present in the decoction that interfered with multiple tumorigenic pathways simultaneously in the mammary tumors. The compounds did the following:
  • Induced tumor apoptosis
  • Up-regulated pro-apoptotic protein Bax
  • Down-regulated anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2
  • Suppressed abnormal cell proliferation and the MAPK/ERK, PI3K/AKT signaling
  • Blocked neo-angiogenesis and the VEGF/KDR signaling
  • Inhibited oxidative stress in the mammary tumors

Based on these results, the researchers concluded that the many components and multi-targeting properties of YHHY decoction support its use as a potent chemopreventive drug against breast cancer.

Read the full study at this link.

Journal Reference:

Li J, Liu X, Chen H, Sun Z, Chen H, Wang L, Sun X, Li X. MULTI-TARGETING CHEMOPREVENTION OF CHINESE HERB FORMULA YANGHE HUAYAN DECOCTION ON EXPERIMENTALLY INDUCED MAMMARY TUMORIGENESIS. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 13 February 2019;19(1). DOI: 10.1186/s12906-019-2456-1