Appreciating Medical Cases of Professor Hua Liangcai Treating ENT Malignant Tumors (Part 1)

Professor Hua Liangcai is one of the founders of TCM andrology in China and formerly served as president of the Hainan Provincial Hospital of TCM. Professor Hua graduated from the Medical Department of the Beijing College of TCM in 1962; after graduation he stayed on to teach, was transferred to the Gansu College of TCM in 1970, became president of the Affiliated Hospital of the Gansu College of TCM in 1980, and served as president and party secretary of the Hainan Provincial Hospital of TCM from 1990 until 1999.

Professor Hua Liangcai summarized his experience in treating ENT malignant tumors into four methods: dispersing (san), softening (ruan), resolving (jie), and supplementing (bu). The four cases of ENT cancer he treated fully embody this thinking. This article presents his medical cases of treating ENT malignant tumors and his therapeutic thinking.

Case 1. Li, female, 47 years old. First visit July 12, 1980.

Three months earlier, the patient had found a soybean-sized tumor on the right side of her neck; recently the tumor had grown faster, and occasionally in the morning there were a very few blood streaks in her nasal discharge, with no other particular discomfort. Examination found a 2 cm x 3 cm mass below the tip of the right mastoid process, of medium hardness and poor mobility. Nasopharyngoscopy showed the mucosa at the right pharyngeal opening of the auditory tube was rather rough; the pathological report confirmed cervical lymph-node metastasis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. TCM pattern differentiation was blood stasis and phlegm congelation; the plan was to treat with the methods of activating blood and resolving stasis, and dispelling phlegm and dispersing nodules.

The prescription was as follows: Chishao (Paeoniae Rubrae Radix) 20 g, Chuanbei (Fritillariae Cirrhosae Bulbus) 10 g, Xingren (Armeniacae Semen) 10 g, Sheng Puhuang (raw Typhae Pollen) 10 g, Wulingzhi (Trogopterori Faeces) 10 g, Dibiechong (Eupolyphaga) 10 g, Chuanshanjia (Manis Squama) 15 g, Danshen (Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix) 15 g, Gualou (Trichosanthis Fructus) 15 g, Quandanggui (whole Angelicae Sinensis Radix) 15 g, Zhi Ruxiang (processed Olibanum) 8 g, Moyao (Myrrha) 8 g.

Decoct in water; wrap the dregs in gauze and apply hot compresses locally. After 10 doses, symptoms showed no obvious change. Zicao (Arnebiae Radix) 15 g and Shancigu (Cremastrae Pseudobulbus) 15 g were added; after another 20 doses the tumor shrank to about 1 cm x 2 cm. After another 20 doses of the previous formula, the neck tumor had resolved and the nasopharyngeal examination was normal. He continued with 10 more doses to consolidate the effect; follow-up through March 1986 showed no recurrence.

Comment: Although the patient already had lymph-node metastasis at the visit, her general condition was basically normal. In TCM terms, her righteous qi was still preserved, so treatment could mainly focus on dispelling pathogen. Professor Hua Liangcai treated this patient with the methods of activating blood and resolving stasis, and softening hard masses and dispersing nodules, using almost no root-supporting herbs. He also combined external application with internal dosing, integrating internal and external treatment for better efficacy.

Case 2. Xu, female, 51 years old. First visit February 8, 1978.

For six months the patient had felt discomfort in the throat, sometimes painful, with hoarseness that was worsening day by day, and sometimes choking when swallowing food. Indirect and direct laryngoscopy showed a mass on the laryngeal surface of the epiglottis, cauliflower-like, hard and brittle, bleeding easily on touch. Because the mass was large, the vocal cords could not be exposed. Three enlarged deep upper-cervical lymph nodes were palpable, soybean-sized, mobile, without adhesion or fusion, of medium hardness. The pathological report was laryngeal cancer (mixed type), grade 1 squamous-cell carcinoma. The patient was poorly nourished and emaciated; the plan was to treat with the method of softening hard masses and dispersing nodules.

First-visit prescription: Xiakucao (Prunellae Spica) 15 g, Shancigu (Cremastrae Pseudobulbus) 15 g, Qi Ye Yi Zhi Hua (Paris Polyphylla) 15 g, Jineijin (Galli Gigerii Endothelium Corneum) 15 g, Weilingxian (Clematidis Radix) 15 g, Taizishen (Pseudostellariae Radix) 15 g, Maozhaocao (Thalictri Radix) 25 g, Sheng Muli (raw Ostreae Concha) 30 g, Jiao Shenqu (fried Massa Fermentata) 10 g, Maiya (Hordei Fructus Germinatus) 10 g, Shanzha (Crataegi Fructus) 10 g, rice vinegar 20 ml (added to the decoction in two portions). Decoct in water, twice daily. In addition, wrap the dregs in gauze and apply warm fomentation locally.

A separate powder was prepared: Bihu (gecko) 25, Ge Fen (clam shell powder) 50 g, Jingmi (rice) 60 g (the above three stir-fried together until the rice is browned), Jiangcan (Bombyx Batryticatus) 15 g, Quanxie (Scorpio) 15 g, Pengsha (Borax) 15 g, Wugong (Scolopendra) 10, Lufengfang (wasp nest, carbonized) 30 g. Grind all together into fine powder, fill capsules; take 4 capsules each time, 3 times a day.

After three months of treatment, the throat pain was greatly reduced, swallowing no longer choked, and hoarseness had clearly improved. After 120 days of treatment, all symptoms had resolved. Indirect and direct laryngoscopy showed the laryngeal mass was gone, with good vocal-cord movement and closure; the deep upper-cervical lymph nodes had resolved. She took another half batch of the powder. Follow-up through April 29, 1985 showed no recurrence.