From the TCM Viewpoint, Sarcomas Mostly Arise from Qi Stagnation, Cold Coagulation and Blood Binding
Malignant tumours are classified, according to the origin of their tissue cells, into carcinomas, sarcomas and blastomas. Carcinomas arise from epithelial tissue; sarcomas arise from mesenchymal non-epithelial tissue; blastomas arise from immature tissue. Sarcomas are extremely malignant and progress rapidly, often enlarging to around ten centimetres within a few months; they rupture easily, and the prognosis is usually not optimistic.
The TCM community nowadays generally favours treating sarcoma with methods such as clearing heat and resolving toxin, fortifying the spleen and boosting the kidney, activating blood and resolving stasis, and using poison to attack poison. In my view, these approaches are for the most part erroneous treatment that will cause the patient's condition to progress even faster. The reason is that the doctors' understanding of the pathogenesis of sarcoma is wrong. Sarcomas growing on the various soft tissues mostly arise from qi stagnation, cold coagulation and blood binding; they should be treated by moving qi and resolving stagnation, warming yang and opening the interstices, and dispersing cold and resolving congelation. Methods such as clearing heat and resolving toxin, and using poison to attack poison, should be used cautiously.
Moreover, sarcomas - including osteosarcoma, mesothelioma, ovarian tumours, uterine tumours and leiomyoma - are tumours of which one does not necessarily die. If treated properly, patients can survive for a long time. In my observation, most sarcoma patients have a life history of emotional unhappiness, or a personality tending toward impatience, irritability or depression. Therefore, when treating sarcoma patients, I like to combine tumour-treating herbs with Xiaoyao Wan or Jiawei Xiaoyao Wan, in order to soothe the liver and resolve stagnation and move qi and resolve binding; this repeatedly produces unexpected therapeutic effects.
Sarcoma patients often have accompanying signs of poor peripheral circulation, such as cold hands and feet and cold ears, and in severe cases spots of various colours appear on the skin. In TCM these are signs of cold congealing and blood binding, with obstruction of the vessels. When a sarcoma is cut open, the tumour body presents a fish-flesh-like putrid meat - entirely unlike the red, swollen, hot yang-abscess described in TCM external-surgery texts as suited to heat-clearing toxin-resolving methods. It is simply not an indication for cold and cooling formulas, and lavishing cold preparations on sarcoma patients is to kill them all the faster.
The treatment of sarcoma should follow the principle that "while unruptured it should be dispersed; once ruptured it should be supplemented." When the tumour has not ulcerated, treatment should centre on the dispersing method; once it has ulcerated, one should turn to the supplementing method. Nowadays, with modern surgery, sarcoma patients who reach the ulcerated stage first undergo surgery; those who cannot be operated on should be supplemented with Shiquan Dabu Tang (Ten-Ingredient Full-Supplementation Decoction), Renshen Yangrong Tang (Ginseng Nutritive Decoction) and the like. Once the patient's strength has recovered, other treatment measures may be planned gradually.