Chinese medicines as therapeutic options for treating prostate cancer: Therapeutic effects and underlying mechanisms

Prostate Cancer (PCa) remains a leading malignancy in males, with significant morbidity and mortality. Despite advancements in treatment, challenges like resistance, recurrence, and metastasis persist. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) offers a promising adjunctive approach, enhancing treatment efficacy, reducing toxicity, delaying progression, and improving quality of life.

This study reviews PCa pathogenesis and evaluates the therapeutic potential of TCM through clinical efficacy data and mechanistic investigations. We further outline TCM's capacity to modulate PCa cellular dynamics through multi-scale biological interactions, establishing a framework for its application in PCa management. Our findings offer insights into TCM-based strategies for overcoming therapeutic limitations in prostate oncology.

This paper provides a systematic summary of PCa pathogenesis and analyzes the clinical efficacy and molecular mechanisms of TCM in treating PCa. Findings are based on searches using keywords such as 'prostate cancer,' 'pathogenesis,' 'Chinese herbal medicine,' 'herbal medicine,' 'traditional Chinese medicine,' and 'active components of Chinese medicine' in PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Wanfang Database, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI).

① Original clinical studies, observational studies, RCTs, and meta-analyses related to the topic. ② Articles published in the last 10 years on PCa treatment and mechanisms in TCM. ③ Studies investigating the mechanisms, treatment strategies, or efficacy of Chinese medicine in PCa. ④ Research on the molecular mechanisms, therapeutic effects, or potential of Chinese herbs or components for PCa.

① Abstracts, conference proceedings, opinion pieces, or non-peer-reviewed articles. ② Studies with low methodological quality (e.g., lacking control groups or detailed drug dosages). ③ Irrelevant studies or those focusing on unrelated diseases.

PCa pathogenesis involves gene mutations, androgen signaling abnormalities, epigenetic changes, inflammation, and metabolic reprogramming. TCM modulates the internal environment to delay progression, extend survival, improve quality of life, enhance immune defense, and alleviate chemotherapy and radiation side effects. TCM also inhibits tumor cell proliferation, metastasis, promotes apoptosis, regulates autophagy and ferroptosis, and reverses chemotherapy resistance, exerting anti-PCa effects through these pathways.

PCa pathogenesis involves genetics, hormones, inflammation, and metabolism, and remains incompletely understood. TCM significantly inhibits PCa progression by regulating cell behavior, improving symptoms, and reducing adverse effects. However, large-scale, multi-center studies are needed to support its application.