A Commonly Used Anti-Cancer Chinese Herb: Huai Er (Pagoda Tree Fungus)

Huai Er (also called Huai E or Huai Ji) is a fungus that grows on trees such as the Chinese pagoda tree, the black locust, and the tall wingnut; its scientific name is Trametes robiniophila (Huai Shuan Jun), mainly distributed in North China and Shaanxi. The TCM herb Huai Er is the fruiting body of the polypore fungus Trametes. Wild Huai Er resources are scarce and artificial cultivation is difficult, so it is now fairly expensive; the patent medicine Huai Er Granules is one of the commonly used adjuvant drugs in oncology departments.

According to traditional TCM theory, Huai Er is bitter, acrid, neutral, and non-toxic, with the main actions of stopping bleeding, stopping dysentery, and anti-cancer—by the way, most components of the Chinese pagoda tree have anti-cancer effects; I will write later about the anti-cancer action of pagoda tree flowers (Huai Hua) and related herbs.

Modern pharmacology has confirmed that Huai Er has tumor-inhibiting and antiviral effects and also enhances immunity. Huai Er has a very marked promoting effect on the phagocytic function of macrophages, can enhance lysozyme activity, has an enhancing influence on cord blood EaRFC and GVHR, can raise the production of specific antibodies, and can promote DNA synthesis in mouse spleen cells—showing that it markedly promotes immune function.

At the same time, Huai Er can also raise the hemoglobin content in serum and has a certain effect on red-blood-cell production. Therefore Huai Er Granules are often used as an adjuvant during radiotherapy and chemotherapy; taking them during chemoradiotherapy can both sensitize the treatment and improve the patient's blood picture and immunity. Animal toxicity experiments show that Huai Er has no obvious toxicity, and no drug-induced pathological reactions or gene mutations have been found.

There are clinical reports that Huai Er has a marked effect on primary liver cancer and thoracic malignant tumors. After 275 patients with primary liver cancer took Huai Er Granules, 73.1% achieved pain relief, 65.4% had improved appetite and gained weight, and 82% showed improved spirit. Imaging showed that 11 patients had tumors that shrank by more than half, and 170 patients had stable tumor size; AFP fell markedly. Moreover, Huai Er also has a good effect on hepatitis B patients: in HBV patients treated with Huai Er, the HBeAg seroconversion rate reached 33%; Huai Er has the effect of blocking malignant transformation in hepatitis B patients.

TCM holds that Huai Er is somewhat bitter in nature, so patients with a weak spleen and stomach may experience nausea and diarrhea after taking it; but the side effects are very mild and can usually be avoided by reducing the dose or combining with other spleen-strengthening and counterflow-downbearing herbs.

In ancient times, Huai Er was mainly used to treat "intestinal wind bleeding" and hemorrhoids. For example, the Yaoxing Lun (Treatise on Medicinal Properties) held that Huai Er "can treat wind, break blood, and benefit strength"; the Newly Revised Materia Medica held that it can "treat hemorrhoids"; Zhouhou Fang says: "To treat intestinal hemorrhoids with bleeding, take the wood ear on the locust tree, make it into powder, take a square-inch spoonful with drink, three times a day"; the Shiwu Kao held that Huai Er can treat "intestinal wind bleeding, burn to ash to kill warts, and can stop menstruation." This action is very similar to that of pagoda tree flowers, but because pagoda tree flowers are easier to obtain and cheaper, I mostly use pagoda tree flowers to treat intestinal wind bleeding; the famous hemostatic formula "Huai Hua San" (Pagoda Tree Flower Powder) is named after pagoda tree flowers.

Huai Er also has a good effect on gynecological diseases; it is especially good at treating incessant spotting and lingering metrorrhagia in women. The "Huai E San" recorded in the Shengji Zonglu and Shengji Hui Fang uses only the single herb Huai Er, burned to charcoal and ground into powder to be taken washed down with warm water. The Furen Liangfang, for treating women whose "blood-qi pain is about to kill them," also uses "half a liang of Huai Ji (an alias for Huai Er) as powder, decocted strong in wine and taken all at once."

In my experience, Huai Er can induce amenorrhea in some breast-cancer patients, similar in effect to tamoxifen, the endocrine drug commonly used for breast cancer. The efficacy of Huai Er against breast cancer is worth studying, although there is still little material available on this. I once suggested that some breast-cancer patients use Huai Er Granules; the granules markedly relieved their clinical symptoms, and some tumors shrank. But because of limited conditions, I could not conduct systematic research on treating breast cancer with Huai Er.

Traditional TCM mostly uses Huai Er to treat intestinal wind bleeding; when colorectal-cancer patients present with bloody stool and diarrhea, taking Huai Er Granules can also improve their quality of life, and Huai Er can also shrink colorectal tumors.

Huai Er has a low yield and is not sold in most pharmacies and hospitals; it is unrealistic for patients to gather it themselves, so clinically the patent medicine Huai Er Granules are mostly used. But for many patients, Huai Er Granules are too great an economic burden. Because the vast majority of cancer patients do not take only one Chinese herb or patent medicine, and Huai Er Granules are just one part of a combination regimen, its use is not widespread.

Relying on Huai Er alone to cure a tumor is also an unrealistic fantasy; after patients have taken Huai Er for a while, drug resistance also appears. Therefore TCM anti-cancer treatment requires combined medication; only by using multiple anti-cancer drugs together can one maximally prolong survival and improve quality of life.