Practical Experience with Chaijie Jiedu Wan in Leukemia, Lymphoma and Neuroblastoma

Chaijie Jiedu Wan (Chai-Guided Toxin-Resolving Pill) is a formula I created for treating COVID infection. The composition is: Guizhi (Ramulus Cinnamomi) 10 g, Huangqin (Radix Scutellariae) 10 g, Renshen (Radix Ginseng) 10 g, Zhi Gancao (processed Radix Glycyrrhizae) 6 g, Baishao (Radix Paeoniae Alba) 10 g, Chaihu (Radix Bupleuri) 25 g, Tianhuafen (Radix Trichosanthis) 15 g, Huoxiang (Herba Agastachis) 5 g, Peilan (Herba Eupatorii) 5 g, Sharen (Fructus Amomi) 5 g, Qianghuo (Rhizoma et Radix Notopterygii) 10 g, Chuanxiong (Rhizoma Chuanxiong) 5 g, Cangzhu (Rhizoma Atractylodis) 5 g, Houpo (Cortex Magnoliae Officinalis) 5 g, Zhiqiao (Fructus Aurantii) 5 g, Baizhi (Radix Angelicae Dahuricae) 5 g, Manjingzi (Fructus Viticis) 15 g, Fangfeng (Radix Saposhnikoviae) 5 g, Jingjie (Herba Schizonepetae) 5 g, Pipaye (Folium Eriobotryae) 10 g, Sangbaipi (Cortex Mori) 15 g, Jineijin (Endothelium Corneum Gigeriae Galli) 6 g, Shanzha (Fructus Crataegi) 15 g, Gegen (Radix Puerariae) 15 g, Jiegeng (Radix Platycodi) 10 g, Dilong (Pheretima) 10 g, Dazao rou (Fructus Jujubae flesh) 25 g, Ganjiang (Rhizoma Zingiberis) 5 g.

This formula combines four classical formulas-Chaihu Guizhi Tang, Jing Fang Baidu San, Ping Wei Wan and Xie Bai San-and modifies them. My original idea in putting it together was to combine several formulas to treat the symptoms of COVID infection: fever, aversion to cold, body pain, cough, poor appetite, fatigue, abdominal pain and diarrhea. During the winter-end 2022 wave, I used Chaijie Jiedu Wan to resolve problems for quite a few viral-pneumonia patients.

After the pandemic peak, having researched TCM anti-cancer therapy for many years, I realized that Chaijie Jiedu Wan should also have some symptomatic effect on leukemia, neuroblastoma and lymphoma-diseases that tend to cause fever, pain and poor appetite. If the formula were modified by adding herbs such as Ezhu (Rhizoma Curcumae), Biejia (Carapax Trionycis), Yinchen (Herba Artemisiae Scopariae) and Zhizi (Fructus Gardeniae), it should also have some effect on cancers of the liver-gallbladder-pancreas series. I therefore decided in 2023 to explore new anti-cancer approaches on the basis of Chaijie Jiedu Wan.

I first added Chaijie Jiedu Wan to the treatment regimens of one leukemia patient, one lymphoma patient and one neuroblastoma patient; these three had previously been on other TCM anti-cancer regimens. The leukemia patient was on a heat-clearing, detoxifying, blood-cooling and swelling-dissolving regimen; the lymphoma patient was on a regimen based on Xiaoluo Wan and Xihuang Wan; the neuroblastoma child was on my broad-spectrum anti-cancer TCM compound regimen. After these regimens, the three patients' conditions were basically stable.

But the leukemia patient developed some severe symptoms after contracting COVID last December, and CT showed viral pneumonia; she had a low fever that was hard to break. So my initial use of Chaijie Jiedu Wan for this patient was to treat her viral lung. After the anti-infective treatment worked, I had her continue Chaijie Jiedu Wan together with her previous anti-cancer drugs for a while to observe the clinical effect. After she had taken it until this February and went to hospital for re-examination, results showed that the abnormal blood picture caused by the leukemia had improved and the enlarged lymph nodes had shrunk. This effect was more significant than using anti-cancer drugs alone in the past.

Because this leukemia patient did well on this regimen, I have recently applied it to two other leukemia patients; the results are yet to be reported.

I added Chaijie Jiedu Wan to the neuroblastoma child because the child had leg pain; before COVID the child also had leg pain, and after infection it returned. Leg pain is a common presenting symptom of relapse in neuroblastoma children. After adding Chaijie Jiedu Wan, the child's leg pain improved markedly and eventually disappeared. Because the child's family had limited means, no corresponding tests were done before and after treatment, so I cannot judge from Western medical reports whether Chaijie Jiedu Wan was effective for this child.

However, after the symptoms resolved and the child continued taking Chaijie Jiedu Wan, symptoms such as irritability and profuse sweating appeared-these are side effects of Chaijie Jiedu Wan on healthy people, because both Chaihu Guizhi Tang and Jing Fang Baidu San in it are exterior-releasing, sweat-inducing herbs. Once these side effects appeared, I told the child to stop Chaijie Jiedu Wan.

I later modified the Chaijie Jiedu Wan formula into Chaige Huayu Wan (Chaihu 15 g, Gegen 30 g, Guizhi 15 g, Rougui (Cortex Cinnamomi) 15 g, Lujiaoshuang (Cornu Cervi Degelatinatum) 15 g, Danggui 15 g, Gandihuang (Radix Rehmanniae) 30 g, Huangqin 10 g, Renshen 10 g, Tianhuafen 12 g, Dilong 10 g, Chuanxiong 10 g, Baizhi 10 g, Gaoben (Rhizoma Ligustici) 10 g, Manjingzi 30 g, Xiebai (Bulbus Allii Macrostemi) 10 g, Cangzhu 10 g, Houpo 10 g, Chao Zhishi (stir-fried Fructus Aurantii Immaturus) 10 g, Baishao 15 g, Chishao (Radix Paeoniae Rubra) 10 g, Honghua 6 g, Shenjincao (Herba Lycopodii) 10 g, Weilingxian (Radix Clematidis) 15 g, Dibiechong (Eupolyphaga) 15 g, Huainiuxi (Radix Achyranthis Bidentatae) 15 g, Qianghuo 10 g, Duhuo (Radix Angelicae Pubescentis) 10 g, Sigualuo (Retinervus Luffae Fructus) 10 g, Duzhong (Cortex Eucommiae) 10 g, Xuduan (Radix Dipsaci) 10 g, Danshen 30 g, Yimucao 30 g, Mugua (Fructus Chaenomelis) 15 g, Sangbaipi 6 g, Digupi (Cortex Lycii) 6 g, Mudanpi (Cortex Moutan) 6 g, Tanxiang (Lignum Santali Albi) 3 g, Sharen 3 g, Gancao 10 g), which I used on a lymphoma patient.

This patient was in his twenties, being treated with a combined formula of Xihuang Wan and Xiaoluo Wan, with good effect and stable condition. Since childhood he had been prone to all kinds of rashes and infections. I decided to tentatively add to his original regimen Chaige Huayu Wan, an anti-infective, blood-activating and stasis-resolving, lung-clearing and heat-draining regimen; after taking it, he was doing well.

Leukemia, lymphoma and neuroblastoma are three different cancers, but their clinical symptoms have certain similarities. Moreover, neuroblastoma can easily induce leukemia; when NB cells infiltrate severely, the neuroblastoma patient enters a leukemic phase. In this phase NB cells proliferate abnormally in the bone marrow, possibly occupying 54-98%, suppressing the normal granulocytic, erythroid and megakaryocytic lineages. The peripheral blood picture shows elevated white cells, low hemoglobin and low platelets; clinical manifestations include fever, bone pain, abdominal pain, enlarged lymph nodes, and enlarged liver and spleen. The clinical symptoms of such children are similar to those of leukemia and lymphoma patients.

These symptoms are also similar to those of COVID infection, so Chaijie Jiedu Wan, originally designed for COVID, can also be used for symptomatic treatment of such patients. Preliminary clinical practice also confirms that adding Chaijie Jiedu Wan or its modified formula to these patients' original regimens improved their clinical symptoms, improved the relevant blood indices, and shrank enlarged lymph nodes. This fully proves that Chaijie Jiedu Wan can not only resolve COVID problems but also relieve the clinical symptoms of cancer patients whose symptoms resemble those of COVID.

Many human cancers are virus-related-for example, EBV causes lymphoma and nasopharyngeal carcinoma; hepatitis B and C viruses induce liver cancer; and viral oncogenes carried in our genome are also important triggers of human cancer. So it is no surprise that a Chinese herbal formula with anti-infective, antiviral, anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects also has some anti-cancer action. Inspired by this idea, I decided this year to try using Chaijie Jiedu Wan, my empirical formula for COVID, to treat related cancers.

I am now also modifying this formula based on patients' responses, building a composition more suitable for cancer patients. This approach may have some effect on relieving cancer pain and cancer fever, and on improving patients' blood pictures. If this line of thinking is pursued, it should be possible to find a new, effective TCM anti-cancer path. Because the first batch of clinical practice shows this research is not shooting in the dark, I am now delving deeper into this anti-cancer approach.