Colon Cancer – New Research Proves Benefits Of Traditional Chinese Medicine

The results of a recent study indicated that Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) was effective in the treatment of the gastrointestinal side effects caused by chemotherapy during the treatment of patients with colon and rectal cancer. The study, conducted by Dr. Yung-Chi Cheng, the Bronson Professor of Pharmacology at Yale University, is understood to be the first study which conclusively proved the benefits to patients of TCM through clinical trials. This study into the potential benefits of TCM was funded by the National Foundation for Cancer Research (NFCR).

The study examined the efficacy of four ancient Chinese herbs in the treatment of colon and rectal cancer patients, when used as a means of reducing the side effects of the chemotherapy treatment they were receiving. The results of the study clearly indicated that the four ancient Chinese herbs were able to restore the intestinal cells which were damaged by the chemotherapy treatment, and were also found to actually enhance the anti tumor activity of Irinotecan, the chemotherapy drug being used to treat the patients with colon and rectal cancer.

“This is a new paradigm of drug development. With funding from the National Foundation for Cancer Research, our team at Yale was able to pursue this avenue of research when no one else would support it.  We have now been able to prove that these traditional medicines actually do deliver real benefits that may improve the lives of cancer patients,” said Dr. Cheng. The results of the study were published in a recent issue of Science Translational Medicine.