The Effects and Usage of the Common Anticancer Patent Medicine Xiaojin Dan

Xiaojin Dan is a formula from Waike Zhengzhi Quansheng Ji (Complete Compendium on the Diagnosis and Treatment of External Diseases). Like Xihuang Wan, it is a secret ancestral formula of Wang Hongxu, a famous Qing-dynasty TCM external-medicine physician, and a famous TCM formula still widely used clinically today to treat various benign and malignant tumors. Currently, based on this formula, the patent medicines include Xiaojin Wan (Pill), Xiaojin Pian (Tablet), and Xiaojin Jiaonang (Capsule), used in the treatment of lung, mid-to-late gastric, breast, liver, gallbladder, pancreatic cancer, and leukemia.

According to Waike Zhengzhi Quansheng Ji, the components, preparation, and usage of Xiaojin Dan are as follows:

Components: Baijiaoxiang (Liquidambar orientalis resin), Caowu (Aconitum kusnezoffii), Wulingzhi (Trogopterus dung), Dilong (Earthworm), and Mubiezi (Momordica seed), each one liang and five qian, ground into powder; Moyao (Myrrh), Dangguishen (Angelica body), and Ruxiang (Olibanum), each seven qian and five fen, ground into powder; Shexiang (Moschus) three qian; Mo Tan (ink charcoal) one qian and two fen.

Preparation and usage: Use one liang and two qian of glutinous rice, make a thick paste, mix in all the powders, pound a thousand times, and make pills the size of a Gordon euryale seed. One batch yields about two hundred and fifty pills; dry in the shade, do not bake. Store sealed. When about to use, take one pill, wrap it in cloth, place it on a flat stone, and crush it through the cloth into a cup; add a few spoonfuls of good wine to soak the herbs, cover with a small cup, and soak for about one to two hours, then grind with a silver implement. Take down with warm aged wine, then cover with bedding to induce sweating. For the early stage of liuzhu (migratory abscess), and all kinds of tanhe (phlegm nodules), luoli (scrofula), ruyan (breast rock), and hengxuan (inguinal abscess) in their early stage, take until resolved and then stop. For young children who cannot take decoctions or pills, it works very well. For liuzhu and similar conditions that have matured and are about to ulcerate, or have ulcerated long, use ten pills as five days of morning and evening doses, so as to prevent spread and the appearance of new lesions. But it contains Wulingzhi (Trogopterus dung), which is contrary to Renshen (Ginseng); it must not be taken on the same day as medicines containing ginseng. Mo Tan is aged ink-stick, slightly burned to retain its nature and ground for use.

Modern clinical research proves that Xiaojin Dan inhibits the growth of animal tumors. Xiaojin Dan can enhance the killing activity of NK cells and the phagocytic function of macrophages, and the effect increases with the dose. This may be one of the mechanisms of Xiaojin Dan's in vivo antitumor activity. Research also shows that Xiaojin Dan has a synergistic and toxicity-reducing effect on chemotherapy; it has an obvious toxicity-reducing and synergistic effect on 5-FU.

Based on the components and the compositional logic of Xiaojin Dan, TCM holds that its main functions are resolving phlegm and drying dampness, dispelling stasis and unblocking the collaterals, resolving toxicity and dispersing swelling, and invigorating blood and stopping pain. It is indicated for liuzhu, tanhe, luoli, ruyan, guju (bone-attaching abscess), and bone tumors caused by cold-damp phlegm congealing and obstructing the muscles and bones, in the early stage when the skin color is unchanged, or when there is swelling, hardness, and pain. It can be used in treating malignant tumors such as gastric, liver, pancreatic, tongue, breast, uterine, and skin cancer, malignant lymphoma, and osteosarcoma. The usual dose is 1.5 to 3 g per day, twice a day. However, I feel that, for treating tumors, this recommended dose is too small; one may consider increasing it as appropriate according to the patient's bodily reaction. In addition, Xiaojin Wan also has a certain analgesic effect and some efficacy against cancer pain caused by bone metastasis.

Some scholars in China have reported clinical efficacy in using Xiaojin Dan for various cancers. For example, Miao Chenggang used Xiaojin Dan combined with Chinese herbs to treat 68 cases of lung cancer, randomly divided into a Xiaojin-Dan-plus-herbs group and a herbs-plus-chemotherapy group, with three months as one course and three courses in total. The effective rate was 78.9% in the Xiaojin-Dan-plus-herbs group and 70.0% in the herbs-plus-chemotherapy group; the difference between the two groups was statistically significant, suggesting that the herbs-plus-Xiaojin-Dan group was superior to the herbs-plus-chemotherapy group.

Zhou Eggao used modified Xiaojin Wan to treat 44 patients with mid-to-late gastric cancer (postoperative), achieving good short-term results. The results showed that Xiaojin Wan could markedly raise the 1–2 year survival rate of gastric cancer patients, lower the positive rate of purple tongue, and improve related coagulation indicators such as antithrombin, showing that the formula can enhance the body's anticoagulant-fibrinolytic ability, improve the blood-stasis state, and raise survival.

Zhou Juying used integrated Chinese and Western medicine to treat 86 cases of late-stage breast cancer, also showing that Xiaojin Dan clearly prolongs the survival of breast cancer patients. Other scholars have done related research on using Xiaojin Dan for liver cancer, leukemia, and cancer pain; practice proves that Xiaojin Dan's efficacy is reliable.

The famous TCM physician Professor Fang Mingqian once treated a breast cancer patient with pure TCM, using Xiaojin Dan and Xihuang Wan, 6 g each morning and evening, and achieved the result of curing the patient with TCM alone.

Xiaojin Dan's efficacy against lymphoma and lymph-metastatic tumors is also quite good. I once used only Mubiezi (Momordica seed), one of the ingredients of Xiaojin Dan, to treat certain lymphoma patients, and it also achieved the result of shrinking their lymph-metastatic tumors. In addition, I once encountered a pancreatic cancer patient who, when using Xiaojin Dan, also achieved immediate results.

When using Xiaojin Dan, I often combine it with Xihuang Wan. Generally, Xiaojin Dan in the morning and Xihuang Wan in the evening. When using Xiaojin Wan, note that, because traditional TCM holds Wulingzhi and Renshen (Ginseng) to be a contrary pair among the "eighteen incompatibilities," Xiaojin Dan must not be used together with ginseng-containing patent medicines or decoctions. However, this "eighteen incompatibilities" claim is not scientific; many TCM doctors now use Renshen together with Wulingzhi without finding serious side effects, and at times the efficacy is remarkably good. But generally, to avoid unnecessary trouble, one should still be suitably cautious.