Appreciating Academician Tong Xiaolin's Treatment of an Intracranial Tumor
This case is recorded on page 37 of Academician Tong Xiaolin's work Xin Bing Shi Jiu Tiao (Nineteen New Pathomechanisms).
The patient, a 62-year-old man surnamed Wu, presented with dizziness and projectile vomiting for one month. Before onset he had repeatedly contracted cold pathogens; a month earlier dizziness and vomiting began. A Beijing hospital diagnosed a left cerebellopontine angle space-occupying lesion; because surgery was impossible, he sought TCM. Current symptoms: heavy, encumbering dizziness with projectile vomiting, cough, expectoration of white sticky phlegm, profuse forehead sweating, and insomnia. The tongue coating was white, thick, and greasy; the pulse was string-like and slippery. MRI showed a left cerebellopontine space-occupying lesion, a hemangioblastoma. The Western diagnosis was left cerebellopontine angle space-occupying lesion, hemangioblastoma. The TCM diagnosis was dizziness; Academician Tong's pattern differentiation was cold-dampness dormant in the brain with phlegm and stasis binding together. Treatment was planned to expel wind and disperse cold, and resolve phlegm and unblock collaterals. First-visit prescription: modified Sansheng Yin.
Prescription as follows: Sheng Mahuang (raw Ephedrae Herba) 20 g, Dannannan (Arisaema cum Bile) 30 g, Fuzi (Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata) 15 g (decocted first for 2 hours), Qing Banxia (Pinelliae Rhizoma, clear-processed) 50 g, Tubiechong (Eupolyphaga) 30 g, Wugong (Scolopendra) 4 whole, Quanxie (Scorpio) 9 g, Guang Yujin (Curcumae Radix) 30 g, Kufan (Alumen ustum) 15 g, Sanqi (Notoginseng Radix) 12 g, Tianma (Gastrodiae Rhizoma) 15 g. One dose divided into 4 portions.
After 14 doses, the patient's dizziness and vomiting eased by about 50%, and sweating decreased. The formula was modified and continued for one more month; projectile vomiting stopped, dizziness basically disappeared, and expectoration lessened. The prescription was then adjusted to a powder for continued use to consolidate the effect.
Academician Tong holds that the early onset of brain tumors relates to externally contracted wind, cold, and damp pathogens and should be differentiated and treated from the perspective of visceral wind-dampness. Fengchi and Fengfu are the external portals; head tumors often have a history of contracting external pathogens. Hence the prescription was modified Sansheng Yin combined with Fan Jin Wan. Sansheng Yin, composed of Tiannanxing (Arisaematis Rhizoma), Chuanwu (Aconiti Kusnezoffii Radix), and Fuzi, is a common base formula for primary brain tumors, valued for its strong action of warmly dispersing great cold; clinical products are usually processed to ensure safety. Fan Jin Wan, composed of Kufan (dried alum) and Guang Yujin, is a vigorous phlegm-resolving formula. Insect drugs were added to unblock the brain collaterals and resolve stasis; raw Mahuang was used to disperse the cold-damp pathogen dormant in the brain; Sanqi and Tianma treated the symptoms. Combined, the herbs thus treated the condition symptomatically.
After the patient responded, Academician Tong converted the decoction on the basis of the earlier formula into a pill/powder. This treatment is in the same line as Academician Tong's principle for chronic disease (I have previously introduced Academician Tong's chronic-disease principle in the article "Academician Tong Xiaolin on Treatment Strategies for Chronic Disease"; readers wishing to go deeper may consult it). It fully embodies the Tong-family approach to major chronic disease. From a modern pharmacology standpoint, the herbs Academician Tong used basically all belong to Chinese medicines with anti-tumor action.
This case does not note the visit date nor record follow-up, so whether the patient was ultimately cured cannot be known from his work. But the patient's symptoms were relieved and quality of life improved, which for the patient itself reduced his suffering.
It should be noted that hemangioblastoma is a benign tumor, also called angioreticuloma or hemangioblastoma. Intracranially it occurs almost only in the cerebellum and brainstem, and may also occur in the bone marrow. Such tumors account for about 1.5%-2% of all brain tumors; one subtype occurs simultaneously intracranially and in the retina, and is called von Hippel-Lindau disease (VHL). VHL is an autosomal dominant hereditary disease; apart from this subtype, the remaining sporadic hemangioblastomas are not hereditary.