The potential molecular pathways of Astragaloside-IV in colorectal cancer: A systematic review

Astragaloside IV (AS-IV), a traditional Chinese medicine, is often used to treat cancer. Colorectal cancer imposes a heavy burden on patients and society. It is essential to update the clinical evidence supporting AS-IV in the treatment of colorectal cancer. The purpose of this review is to systematically evaluate the molecular pathway and safety of AS-IV in colorectal cancer. 7 databases were queried for Jan 2012-Dec 2022. A total of 37 related articles were retrieved. 8 papers were included to evaluate the role of AS-IV in colorectal cancer and make a review. AS-IV plays vital roles in colorectal cancer, especially in the suppression of proliferation, inducing tumor cell apoptosis, increasing immune function and reducing drug resistance. Furthermore, AS-IV has been proved to regulate many signaling pathways, which are usually affected by most cancers. However, a large-scale and well-designed multicenter randomized controlled study ensures that the safety and optimal dose of AS-IV will be determined in the future.