REVIEW article
Front. Immunol.
Sec. Cancer Immunity and Immunotherapy
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1630279
This article is part of the Research TopicExploring key pathways in the progression of gastrointestinal diseases based on metabolic reprogramming and developing drugs targeting metabolismView all 5 articles
Clinical Application Prospects of Traditional Chinese Medicine as Adjuvant Therapy for Metabolic Reprogramming in Colorectal Cancer
Provisionally accepted
- Liaoning Cancer Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang, China
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Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths globally and the thi rd most commonly diagnosed malignancy, posing a major threat to public health. Clinical manifestations such as altered bowel habits (e.g., constipation, diarrhea, or pencil-thin stools), rectal bleeding, and abdominal pain or bloating may indicate CRC. A hallmark of CRC is metabolic reprogramming, which enables tumor cells to meet the bioenergetic and biosynthetic demands of rapid proliferation and survival. This reprogramming encompasses dysregulated glycolysis, amino acid metabolism, and lipid metabolism, collectively driving tumor growth, invasion, angiogenesis, and therapeutic resistance.Targeting metabolic reprogramming has emerged as a promising strategy in CRC therapy. Inhibitors of key metabolic enzymes and signaling pathways involved in glycolysis have demonstrated efficacy in preclinical and early clinical studies. Additionally, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has attracted increasing interest for its potential to modulate tumor metabolism. This review examines current evidence on marketed drugs, TCM, and the underlying metabolic mechanisms implicated in CRC treatment. While TCM shows promise as a complementary therapeutic approach, further research is essential to validate its clinical utility and mechanistic underpinnings.
Keywords: metabolic reprogramming, colorectal cancer, clinical applications, Regulatory therapy, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Complementary treatment
Received: 17 May 2025; Accepted: 30 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Liu, Guo, Dong, Xia, Ma and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Yanxi Li, Liaoning Cancer Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.