Antiinflammatorisch wirksame phytotherapeutika und ihr mögliches potential bei tumorkranken menschen

Abstract

The active components of herbal drugs and substances are pleiotropic multi-ingredient compounds with multitarget properties including antiinflammatory effects. A pleiotropic inhibition of inflammation could play an important role in tumor patients as an attempt of prevention or retardation of metastasis. A large number of experimental data for European and non-European herbal drugs as well as various herbal drug combinations suggest such a possibility. Despite the so far small number of clinical studies, such an experimental herbal treatment could appear to be reasonable and acceptable, provided that there are data available on quality and safety of these herbal drugs by treatments of patients without cancer and provided that an application of these data seems to be justified. Besides, herbal drugs and substances play a growing role in supportive therapy. Many of these herbal drugs have antiinflammatory effects beside their symptomatic efficacy in supportive therapy. The specific selection of herbal drugs that are efficacious in supportive therapy and additionally showed antiinflammatory effects offers the possibility of simultaneous antiinflammatory and antitumor efficacy beside the symptomatic relief for tumor patients as personalized herbal treatment. However, at present there is still a great need and demand for therapy-oriented clinical research. © 2011 S. Karger GmbH, Freiburg.