National Foundation for Cancer Research Scientists at Yale University Prove Benefits of Ancient Formula

BETHESDA, Md., Sept. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) often has been regarded as an "alternative" therapy, as to which "mainstream" physicians or scientists have been skeptical, because there was little or no scientific proof about how it could work — until now.

National Foundation for Cancer Research scientist Yung-Chi Cheng, the Bronson Professor of Pharmacology at Yale University, has shown through phase I and phase II clinical trials that a formula comprised of four ancient Chinese herbs — collectively known as PHY906 — when used in conjunction with chemotherapy reduces the unpleasant gastrointestinal side effects caused by chemotherapy given to colon and rectal cancer patients. This is the first time that a Traditional Chinese Medicine formula has demonstrated clear patient benefits through the rigorous testing of clinical trials. These findings, culminating more than ten years of research by Dr. Cheng and his colleagues, were published in the August 2010 Issue of Science Translational Medicine.

When no one else would fund this research, NFCR did, by providing both "seed" funding and ten years of sustained funding. This support from NFCR enabled this team of scientists to complete their groundbreaking work and demonstrate through pre-clinical experiments that PHY906 enhances the anti-tumor activity of certain chemotherapy agents. The recently published results of their research strongly suggest that PHY906, used in conjunction with the chemotherapy drug, Irinotecan, not only enhances the anti-tumor activity of the drug, but the formula also restores intestinal cells damaged by chemotherapy — a finding that could lead to the alleviation of the adverse intestinal side effects experienced by patients.