The Anticancer, White-Cell-Raising, Hemostatic, Analgesic, and Diuretic Effects of the TCM Herb Kushen (Sophora Flavescens) in Pleural and Peritoneal Effusion
Kushen (Sophora flavescens, shrubby sophora root) is one of the Chinese herbs with relatively strong anticancer activity. Not only TCM doctors but most Western oncology doctors acknowledge its anticancer effect; Kushen injection is a new herbal preparation commonly used by Western oncologists. Modern pharmacological studies confirm that Kushen has definite efficacy against many cancers and can markedly improve cancer patients' quality of life and prolong survival. Its main roles in oncology are: anticancer, raising the white blood cell count, hemostasis, analgesia, and diuresis to remove pleural, peritoneal, and pericardial effusion.
I once treated a breast cancer patient whose brother was a stomach cancer patient. When the stomach cancer was found, it was already at an advanced stage. During abdominal surgery, the surgeon found the abdominal cavity filled with tumors and no surgical value, so he did not remove the tumors, sewed the abdomen up, and sent the patient home.
Later, guided by a local folk herbalist, this patient gathered Kushen himself and simply decocted and drank it. He survived five and a half years, at one point recovering to normal health. After five and a half years his condition suddenly worsened; on re-examination, both the gastric tumor and the peritoneal metastases had disappeared, but the liver was filled with tumors, and he finally died because the liver metastases were too severe.
The efficacy this patient achieved using Kushen alone is something many Chinese and Western doctors struggle to achieve by every means. I even suspect that if, while using Kushen, the patient had combined liver-protecting herbs such as Chaihu (Bupleurum), Huangqin (Scutellaria), Baishao (White peony), and Fulin (Poria), his survival might have been longer. However, after this patient's own sister developed breast cancer, she followed her brother's example and took Kushen, but the result was not ideal; this shows that Kushen's effective rate against cancer is not one hundred percent.
One feature of this patient's use of Kushen was that his dosage was far larger than that prescribed by clinical TCM doctors, usually over two liang (about 100 g). In fact, modern pharmacological experiments confirm that Kushen's anticancer effect is greatly related to the blood concentration of matrine in the body; the higher the concentration, the better the efficacy. Currently, some herbal books recommend a clinical dose of Kushen of about 10 g, a dose at which it is hard to achieve the efficacy this patient obtained.
Modern pharmacological studies confirm that Kushen has clear efficacy against many cancers, including leukemia, liver cancer, osteosarcoma, oral epithelial cancer, stomach cancer, colorectal cancer, glioma, lung cancer, cervical cancer, breast cancer, nasopharyngeal cancer, colon cancer, kidney cancer, retinoblastoma, ovarian cancer, neuroblastoma, prostate cancer, and bladder cancer. Modern clinicians mainly use Kushen for cancerous pleural, peritoneal, and pericardial effusion, and for leukopenia after chemotherapy in patients with liver, stomach, intestinal, and lung tumors. Using compound Kushen injection combined with chemotherapy to treat malignant tumors—such as esophageal, stomach, liver, lung, pancreatic, colorectal cancer, and malignant lymphoma—can markedly improve the therapeutic effect of the chemotherapy drugs.
The matrine contained in Kushen is the main anticancer component. Matrine has a very obvious inhibitory effect on leukemia, liver cancer, stomach cancer, and other cancers, and can promote the apoptosis of the relevant cancer cells. Matrine's anticancer effect is directly proportional to the dosage, but it also has some side effects; when used in excessive amounts, signs of acute poisoning appear, so in practice one must keep to a proper measure.
In recent years I have often used Kushen as the main anticancer herb for leukemia, lung cancer, urinary-tract tumors, and various digestive-tract tumors, generally in a relatively large dose, with a minimum of 30 g; the results are fairly satisfactory. Generally, when I use Kushen I start with a smaller dose and, observing the patient's bodily reaction after taking it, gradually increase the amount, at large doses reaching over 100 g.
Kushen also has a very obvious effect in raising white blood cells. Cancer patients often have a declining white-cell count due to tumor consumption, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy; some have very low hemoglobin and even need transfusions to sustain them. At such a time, using Kushen together with blood-tonifying herbs such as Huangqi (Astragalus) and Shudihuang (processed Rehmannia) gives an immediate leukocyte-raising effect.
Kushen's hemostatic action acts mainly on the digestive tract. The Kushen Dihuang Pill recorded in Waike Dacheng (Compendium of External Medicine), written by Qi Kun of the Qing dynasty, uses Kushen together with Rehmannia to treat bleeding from hemorrhoids and fistulas, and intestinal wind bleeding. The Kushen Dihuang Pill can be used for intestinal bleeding caused by hemorrhoids and by benign and malignant intestinal tumors. Radiation-induced enteritis causes long-term intestinal bleeding; in such cases, depending on the patient's condition, Kushen and Rehmannia may be used as appropriate.
Kushen has a relatively strong diuretic action. For edematous-dampness disease caused by damp-heat pouring downward, the ancients often treated it mainly with Kushen. Combining Kushen with Huangbai (Phellodendron), Difuzi (Kochia fruit), Cangzhu (Atractylodes lancea), Zhizi (Gardenia), and Yinchen (Artemisia capillaris) gives good results for abdominal, pelvic, and pleural effusion.
Kushen also has an analgesic effect; modern drug experiments confirm it treats pain fairly well, with the analgesic site in the central nervous system. Kushen decoction, applied externally or taken internally, has some pain-relieving effect.
Kushen is also a commonly used herb for various skin diseases, such as eczema, psoriasis, and vitiligo. Made into an ointment with sulfur for external use, it treats skin diseases very well. In addition, Kushen has a fairly good effect on various inflammations of the reproductive system.
However, not all cancer patients are suited to Kushen. Kushen is bitter and cold in nature, damages the spleen and stomach, and its main functions are clearing heat and drying dampness, draining fire and resolving toxicity, killing parasites, and promoting diuresis. So TCM doctors generally use Kushen for cancer of the heat pattern; for patients with a cold, deficient constitution, using Kushen is counterproductive.
Kushen also lowers blood pressure; some patients experience a drop in blood pressure after taking it. Its main clinical side effects are a decline in digestive function after taking it, loose stools, and, in individual patients, adverse reactions such as rash. Patients poisoned by Kushen generally show dizziness and vertigo, nausea and vomiting, chest tightness, cold sweats, pale complexion, general weakness, salivation, unsteady gait, rapid pulse, and shortness of breath. In severe cases there are limb spasms and convulsions, slurred speech, difficulty opening the mouth, irregular breathing, and even death from respiratory failure.
Patients should use Kushen under the guidance of a professional. When using Kushen in large doses, one must follow the principle of gradual progression, starting from a small dose and gradually increasing to a large dose; one must not be impatient, lest danger occur.