Cancer cachexia results in the discontinuation of aggressive cancer therapy, and halting its progression has a significant effect on the survival rate and quality of life of patients with cancer. Currently, there are few therapies to control or slow down the progression of cancer cachexia. Although traditional Japanese Kampo medicine is widely used to support aggressive cancer therapy, the relevant scientific evidence is limited. Additionally, Kampo medicines are based on historical experience. In recent years, there have been widespread attempts to prove the efficacy of Kampo medicines through basic research, and an increasing number of studies have clarified the mechanism of action of Kampo medicines at the molecular level. It has been proposed that the improvement of cancer cachexia by Kampo medicines might involve enhancement of feeding via the central nervous system, improvement of protein maintenance in the skeletal muscle, and suppression of inflammatory cytokine production. In particular, among Kampo medicines, tonifying formulae, called “hozai” in Japanese, have been shown to be effective in alleviating cancer cachexia. In this review, we summarize the recent progress of basic and clinical research in Kampo medicines on cancer cachexia, and introduce Kampo medicines that are expected to be attractive supportive cancer medication.

癌症恶病质导致积极的癌症治疗停止，阻止其进展对癌症患者的生存率和生活质量有显着影响。目前，很少有疗法可以控制或减缓癌症恶病质的进展。尽管日本传统汉方医学被广泛用于支持积极的癌症治疗，但相关科学证据有限。此外，汉方药物是基于历史经验的。近年来，广泛尝试通过基础研究证明汉方药物的功效，越来越多的研究在分子水平上阐明了汉方药物的作用机制。有人提出，汉方药物对癌症恶病质的改善可能涉及通过中枢神经系统增强进食、改善骨骼肌中的蛋白质维持和抑制炎性细胞因子的产生。特别是在汉方药中，有一种名为“hozai ”在日语中，已被证明可有效缓解癌症恶病质。在这篇综述中，我们总结了汉方药物治疗癌症恶病质的基础和临床研究的最新进展，并介绍了有望成为具有吸引力的支持性癌症药物的汉方药物。