Effect of Yiqi Huoxue Jiedu Fang on the growth,metastasis and angiogenesis of Lewis lung carcinomas

AIM: To study the effect of Yiqi Huoxue Jiedu Fang (YHJ), composed of ginsenoside, penex notogingseng and berberin, on tumor growth and metastasis and to explore its mechanism.METHODS: Murine Lewis lung carcinoma transplant model was established and mice were treated with YHJ by intraperitoneal injection. After 10 days, the inhibitory rate of tumor, pathology of tumor and PCNA of tumor cells were detected. After 20 days, numbers of metastatic foci on lung surface and microvessel density (MVD) were determined. Expression of VEGF in tumor and serum were also analyzed by immunohistochemical test and ELISA, respectively. RESULTS: YHJ reduced the weight of tumor and the amount of metastatic foci. The inhibitory rates of tumor at high and low dose of YHJ (24 mg·kg_^-1·d_^-1, 12 mg·kg_^-1·d_^-1) were 48.29% and 37.26%, and the number of metastatic foci was 1.67 and 3.50, while control was 6.44. Furthermore, PCNA of tumor cells, MVD of tumor and VEGF expression in serum and tumor were decreased in YHJ treatment goup as compared with control. CONCLUSION: YHJ remarkably inhibits Lewis lung carcinoma growth and metastasis in mice. Its mechanism may be related to inhibition of angiogenesis.