Based on the theory of cancer-toxin pathogenesis， this article proposes that cancer toxin persists throughout the entire course of colorectal cancer （CRC）， with spleen qi depletion as the root of disease and damp-heat and stasis toxin as key factors in the evolution of pathogenesis. It further explores the intrinsic relationship between these pathogenetic features and the modern pathological process of "inflammasome pre-activation/repeated activation/gasdermin D-mediated pyroptotic microenvironmental imbalance". Spleen qi depletion is regarded as an upstream pathological basis for inflammasome pre-activation， while damp-heat and stasis toxin are considered key drivers of repeated inflammasome activation， the gasdermin D-mediated amplification of pyroptotic inflammation， and persistent microenvironmental imbalance. These two pathogenetic aspects interact sequentially and concurrently， jointly contributing to the early development and progression of CRC. Guided by the principle of anti-cancer and detoxification， and based on the traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） treatment strategy of simultaneously fortifying the spleen and replenishing qi， clearing and resolving damp-heat， and resolving stasis and toxins， this study further elucidates the modern mechanistic connotations of how these relevant therapies intervene in the gasdermin D-mediated pyroptotic microenvironment imbalance in CRC. The ultimate aim is to provide a theoretical basis for the modern scientific interpretation of cancer-toxin pathogenesis and the clinical syndrome differentiation and treatment of CRC.

Based on the theory of cancer-toxin pathogenesis， this article proposes that cancer toxin persists throughout the entire course of colorectal cancer （CRC）， with spleen qi depletion as the root of disease and damp-heat and stasis toxin as key factors in the evolution of pathogenesis. It further explores the intrinsic relationship between these pathogenetic features and the modern pathological process of "inflammasome pre-activation/repeated activation/gasdermin D-mediated pyroptotic microenvironmental imbalance". Spleen qi depletion is regarded as an upstream pathological basis for inflammasome pre-activation， while damp-heat and stasis toxin are considered key drivers of repeated inflammasome activation， the gasdermin D-mediated amplification of pyroptotic inflammation， and persistent microenvironmental imbalance. These two pathogenetic aspects interact sequentially and concurrently， jointly contributing to the early development and progression of CRC. Guided by the principle of anti-cancer and detoxification， and based on the traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） treatment strategy of simultaneously fortifying the spleen and replenishing qi， clearing and resolving damp-heat， and resolving stasis and toxins， this study further elucidates the modern mechanistic connotations of how these relevant therapies intervene in the gasdermin D-mediated pyroptotic microenvironment imbalance in CRC. The ultimate aim is to provide a theoretical basis for the modern scientific interpretation of cancer-toxin pathogenesis and the clinical syndrome differentiation and treatment of CRC.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. While modern medical therapies such as surgery， chemotherapy， and radiotherapy have achieved progress， they often come with severe side effects and drug resistance. Traditional Chinese medicine （TCM）， characterized by its multi-component， multi-target， and holistic regulatory properties， plays a significant role in the adjunctive treatment of lung cancer. It offers unique advantages in alleviating clinical symptoms， enhancing patients' quality of life， prolonging survival， and enhancing efficacy while reducing toxicity， serving as an important therapeutic modality for lung cancer. The theory of cancer-toxin pathogenesis proposes that phlegm-toxin is a key pathogenic factor in lung cancer， with phlegm-toxin mutual entanglement being the core pathogenesis of lung cancer. The pathogenic characteristics-viscosity， dispersion， and damage to the healthy Qi-of phlegm-toxin are closely related to the accumulation of acidic metabolic products， tumor invasion and metastasis， and immune suppression during the course of lung cancer. Phlegm resolving and toxin clearing are the core therapeutic methods for lung cancer. Such prescriptions possess dual functions of resolving phlegm and dissipating mass， as well as inhibiting tumor and detoxifying. They exert antitumor effects through multiple pathways， including regulating metabolic reprogramming of glucose and lipids， improving the acidic microenvironment of tumors， and inhibiting inflammatory signaling pathways. This paper systematically reviews the current clinical application status and mechanisms of phlegm-resolving and detoxifying Chinese herbal medicines. By integrating the theory of cancer-toxin pathogenesis with modern pharmacological research findings， this paper explores their application in lung cancer treatment and establishes a clinical application system for phlegm-resolving and detoxifying therapies in lung cancer based on phlegm-toxin pathogenesis. This system integrates ancient and modern experiences with contemporary mechanisms， aiming to provide theoretical foundations and practical references for integrated traditional and Western medicine diagnosis， treatment， and drug development for lung cancer and other conditions.

Abstract Modern western medicine typically focuses on treating specific symptoms or diseases, and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) emphasizes the interconnections of the body’s various systems under external environment and takes a holistic approach to preventing and treating diseases. Phenomics was initially introduced to the field of TCM in 2008 as a new discipline that studies the laws of integrated and dynamic changes of human clinical phenomes under the scope of the theories and practices of TCM based on phenomics. While TCM Phenomics 1.0 has initially established a clinical phenomic system centered on Zhenghou (a TCM definition of clinical phenome), bottlenecks remain in data standardization, mechanistic interpretation, and precision intervention. Here, we systematically elaborates on the theoretical foundations, technical pathways, and future challenges of integrating digital medicine with TCM phenomics under the framework of “TCM phenomics 2.0”, which is supported by digital medicine technologies such as artificial intelligence, wearable devices, medical digital twins, and multi-omics integration. This framework aims to construct a closed-loop system of “Zhenghou–Phenome–Mechanism–Intervention” and to enable the digitization, standardization, and precision of disease diagnosis and treatment. The integration of digital medicine and TCM phenomics not only promotes the modernization and scientific transformation of TCM theory and practice but also offers new paradigms for precision medicine. In practice, digital tools facilitate multi-source clinical data acquisition and standardization, while AI and big data algorithms help reveal the correlations between clinical Zhenghou phenomes and molecular mechanisms, thereby improving scientific rigor in diagnosis, efficacy evaluation, and personalized intervention. Nevertheless, challenges persist, including data quality and standardization issues, shortage of interdisciplinary talents, and insufficiency of ethical and legal regulations. Future development requires establishing national data-sharing platforms, strengthening international collaboration, fostering interdisciplinary professionals, and improving ethical and legal frameworks. Ultimately, this approach seeks to build a new disease identification and classification system centered on phenomes and to achieve the inheritance, innovation, and modernization of TCM diagnostic and therapeutic patterns.

ObjectiveTo observe and analyze the plasma metabolite differences among colorectal cancer patients with spleen-qi deficiency， damp-heat stasis-toxin syndrome（SRYD）， non-spleen-qi deficiency， damp-heat stasis-toxin syndrome（non-SRYD）， and normal human beings（Normal）， aiming to identify unique metabolites specific to SRYD colorectal cancer patients and their potential biomarkers. MethodsBased on the diagnostic criteria of SRYD and non-SRYD colorectal cancer， 30 patients were included， including 10 patients with SRYD colorectal cancer and 20 patients with non-SRYD colorectal cancer， while 10 individuals were recruited for the Normal group. Metabolome sequencing of plasma from the three groups was performed by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-electrostatic field orbitrap mass spectrometry（UPLC-Q-Exactive-Orbitrap-MS）. Multivariate statistical analysis were performed by principal component analysis（PCA） and partial least squares-discriminant analysis（PLS-DA）， and the intergroup differential metabolites were identified based on variable importance in the projection（VIP） value>1 and t-test P<0.05. And pathway enrichment analysis based on Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes（KEGG） was performed to explore the metabolites and metabolic pathways specific to SRYD colorectal cancer patients. ResultsMetabolome sequencing results showed some differences in metabolic profiles between the groups. A total of 111 plasma differential metabolites were found in the SRYD group and the Normal group， of which 31 were up-regulated and 80 were down-regulated， mainly including stearoyl lysophosphatidylcholine， indole-3-acrylic acid， and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate（P<0.05）. The non-SRYD group exhibited 97 differentially expressed metabolites compared to the Normal group， with 36 up-regulated and 61 down-regulated， mainly including stearoyl lysophosphatidylcholine， sphingosine， and palmitoyl lysophosphatidylcholine（P<0.05）. And the SRYD group exhibited 19 differentially expressed metabolites compared to the non-SRYD group， of which 5 were up-regulated and 14 were down-regulated， mainly including dihydrosphingosine， palmitic acid， and linoleoylethanolamide（P<0.05）. The significant differential metabolites were subjected to KEGG analysis to obtain significantly enriched metabolic pathways in each group， and the results showed that 11 metabolic pathways such as primary bile acid synthesis， cholesterol metabolism and bile secretion were differential signaling pathways specific to SRYD colorectal cancer. Further retrieval of the above key signaling pathways showed that bile acids were up-regulated in both bile secretion and primary bile acid synthesis pathways， and there was a trend of up-regulation of glycochenodeoxycholic acid， taurochenodeoxycholic acid， and chenodeoxycholic acid. ConclusionPrimary bile acid synthesis， cholesterol metabolism， and bile secretion-related pathways may be differential signaling pathways specific to SRYD colorectal cancer， and bile acid is a core molecule in the metabolic pathway， which can serve as potential biomarkers closely related to the development and progression of SRYD colorectal cancer.

ObjectiveTo observe and analyze the plasma metabolite differences among colorectal cancer patients with spleen-qi deficiency， damp-heat stasis-toxin syndrome（SRYD）， non-spleen-qi deficiency， damp-heat stasis-toxin syndrome（non-SRYD）， and normal human beings（Normal）， aiming to identify unique metabolites specific to SRYD colorectal cancer patients and their potential biomarkers. MethodsBased on the diagnostic criteria of SRYD and non-SRYD colorectal cancer， 30 patients were included， including 10 patients with SRYD colorectal cancer and 20 patients with non-SRYD colorectal cancer， while 10 individuals were recruited for the Normal group. Metabolome sequencing of plasma from the three groups was performed by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-electrostatic field orbitrap mass spectrometry（UPLC-Q-Exactive-Orbitrap-MS）. Multivariate statistical analysis were performed by principal component analysis（PCA） and partial least squares-discriminant analysis（PLS-DA）， and the intergroup differential metabolites were identified based on variable importance in the projection（VIP） value>1 and t-test P<0.05. And pathway enrichment analysis based on Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes（KEGG） was performed to explore the metabolites and metabolic pathways specific to SRYD colorectal cancer patients. ResultsMetabolome sequencing results showed some differences in metabolic profiles between the groups. A total of 111 plasma differential metabolites were found in the SRYD group and the Normal group， of which 31 were up-regulated and 80 were down-regulated， mainly including stearoyl lysophosphatidylcholine， indole-3-acrylic acid， and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate（P<0.05）. The non-SRYD group exhibited 97 differentially expressed metabolites compared to the Normal group， with 36 up-regulated and 61 down-regulated， mainly including stearoyl lysophosphatidylcholine， sphingosine， and palmitoyl lysophosphatidylcholine（P<0.05）. And the SRYD group exhibited 19 differentially expressed metabolites compared to the non-SRYD group， of which 5 were up-regulated and 14 were down-regulated， mainly including dihydrosphingosine， palmitic acid， and linoleoylethanolamide（P<0.05）. The significant differential metabolites were subjected to KEGG analysis to obtain significantly enriched metabolic pathways in each group， and the results showed that 11 metabolic pathways such as primary bile acid synthesis， cholesterol metabolism and bile secretion were differential signaling pathways specific to SRYD colorectal cancer. Further retrieval of the above key signaling pathways showed that bile acids were up-regulated in both bile secretion and primary bile acid synthesis pathways， and there was a trend of up-regulation of glycochenodeoxycholic acid， taurochenodeoxycholic acid， and chenodeoxycholic acid. ConclusionPrimary bile acid synthesis， cholesterol metabolism， and bile secretion-related pathways may be differential signaling pathways specific to SRYD colorectal cancer， and bile acid is a core molecule in the metabolic pathway， which can serve as potential biomarkers closely related to the development and progression of SRYD colorectal cancer.

Objective:To analyze the current status of clinical research registration on TCM prevention and treatment of malignant tumors in the Chinese Clinical Trail Registry (ChiCTR); To summarize its characteristics and shortcomings.Methods:Clinical studies on the TCM prevention and treatment for malignant tumors registered from the establishment of ChiCTR database to July 15, 2024 were retrieved. Excel 2019 software was used to sort out the data, including basic research information (registration time, registration number status, registration title, test organizer, research implementation location, etc.), design scheme (disease type, research type, intervention measures, sample size, blind method, etc.), research funding or material sources, as well as other information such as human specimen collection and recruitment of research objects. SPSS 27.0 software was used for frequency statistics.Results:A total of 891 registered studies were included, including 783 interventional studies and 108 observational studies; the areas with a large number of registrations were mainly Shanghai, Beijing, Guangdong Province, etc. ; the research funds mainly came from local finance; a total of 46 tumor diseases were involved in the study, with the largest number of lung cancer (209 items), followed by tumor-related syndromes (155 items), colorectal cancer (148 items), and breast cancer (136 items); the type of research design was mainly random parallel control; the main intervention measures were TCM decoction or herbal decoction pieces (373 items), and the dosage form was mostly decoction (216 items), followed by granules (94 items); single-blind or double-blind design was used in 217 registered trials; 663 registration trials involved the collection of human samples.Conclusions:The number of clinical research registrations on the TCM prevention and treatment for malignant tumors is increasing day by day. The shortcomings such as insufficient standardization of research design and lack of research transparency still exists. In the future, TCM researchers need to strengthen cooperation with international traditional medicine clinical trial registry, giving full play to the leading role of standardization of TCM trials, and using registration as a starting point to improve the quality of clinical research.

Sustained inflammatory responses are closely related to various severe diseases,and inhibiting the excessive activation of inflammasomes and pyroptosis has significant implications for clinical treatment.Natural products have garnered considerable concern for the treatment of inflammation.Huanglian-Wumei decoction(HLWMD)is a classic prescription used for treating inflammatory diseases,but the necessity of their combination and the exact underlying anti-inflammatory mechanism have not yet been elucidated.Inspired by the supramolecular self-assembly strategy and natural drug compatibility theory,we successfully obtained berberine(BBR)-chlorogenic acid(CGA)supramolecular(BCS),which is an herbal pair from HLWMD.Using a series of characterization methods,we confirmed the self-assembly mechanism of BCS.BBR and CGA were self-assembled and stacked into amphiphilic spherical supra-molecules in a 2:1 molar ratio,driven by electrostatic interactions,hydrophobic interactions,and π-πstacking;the hydrophilic fragments of CGA were outside,and the hydrophobic fragments of BBR were inside.This stacking pattern significantly improved the anti-inflammatory performance of BCS compared with that of single free molecules.Compared with free molecules,BCS significantly attenuated the release of multiple inflammatory mediators and lipopolysaccharide(LPS)-induced pyroptosis.Its anti-inflammatory mechanism is closely related to the inhibition of intracellular nuclear factor-kappaB(NF-κB)p65 phosphorylation and the noncanonical pyroptosis signalling pathway mediated by caspase-11.

Objective To elucidate the causal relationships between colorectal cancer (CRC) and prevalent psychiatric disorders through a two-sample Mendelian randomization approach. Methods Utilizing publicly available genome-wide association study data, we explored the connections between CRC and various psychiatric disorders, including depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia. We applied three statistical analyses: inverse variance weighting, MR-Egger, and median weighting. Sensitivity analyses were conducted to ensure the reliability and validity of the results. Results Inverse variance weighting analysis showed no significant links between CRC and depression (P=0.090), anxiety (P=0.099), or schizophrenia (P=0.899). Conversely, a significant inverse relationship was found with bipolar disorder (P=0.010). Conclusion No causal connection exists between CRC and the psychiatric conditions of depression, anxiety, or schizophrenia. However, CRC may have a causal association with a reduced risk of bipolar disorder, further supporting the existence of the gut-brain axis.

ObjectiveTo explore effect of Xianlian Jiedu prescription on the recurrence of colorectal cancer （CRC） and investigate the related mechanisms. MethodsA postoperative recurrence model was established in 25 Balb/c mice by injecting CT26 cells subcutaneously into the armpit， followed by surgical removal of 99% of the subcutaneous tumor. The mice were randomly divided into model group， low-dose Xianlian Jiedu prescription （XLJDP-L） group （6.45 g·kg^-1·d^-1）， medium-dose Xianlian Jiedu prescription （XLJDP-M） group （12.9 g·kg^-1·d^-1）， high-dose Xianlian Jiedu prescription （XLJDP-H） group （25.8 g·kg^-1·d^-1）， and 5-fluorouracil （5-FU） group （1×10^-3 g·kg^-1·d^-1）. The mice were euthanized after 14 days of continuous intervention， and recurrent tumor tissue was harvested. Hematoxylin and eosin （HE） staining was used to observe pathological and morphological changes in the recurrent tumor tissue. Immunohistochemistry （IHC） was employed to assess the expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen （Ki67）， vascular endothelial growth factor （VEGF）， and platelet-endothelial cell adhesion molecule （CD31） in recurrent tumor tissue. The Western blot was used to detect the protein expression levels of angiopoietin-2 （ANG-2）， VEGF， phosphorylated-protein kinase B （p-Akt）， protein kinase B （Akt）， phosphorylated-phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase （p-PI3K）， and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase （PI3K） in recurrent tumor tissue. ResultsBefore treatment， there were no statistical differences in tumor volume， tumor weight， and body mass among the XLJDP-L， XLJDP-M， and XLJDP-H groups and the 5-FU group compared to the model group， indicating model stability. After treatment， compared with those in the model group， the tumor volume and tumor weight in the XLJDP-L， XLJDP-M， and XLJDP-H groups and the 5-FU group were significantly reduced （P<0.01）， showing dose dependency. Meanwhile， there were no significant differences in body weight among the XLJDP-L， XLJDP-M， and XLJDP-H groups and the 5-FU group compared to the model group. HE staining showed that compared with that in the model group， tumor tissue in the XLJDP-L， XLJDP-M， and XLJDP-H groups and the 5-FU group had loosely arranged cells， increased intercellular spaces， small and shriveled nuclei， light staining， fewer mitotic figures and atypical nuclei， and increased necrotic areas. IHC showed that compared with those of the model group， the positive rates of Ki67， VEGF， and CD31 in the recurrent tumor tissue of the XLJDP-L， XLJDP-M， and XLJDP-H groups and the 5-FU group were significantly reduced （P<0.01） in a dose-dependent manner. Western blot results showed that compared with those of the model group， the protein expression levels of ANG-2 and VEGF in the recurrent tumor tissue of the XLJDP-L， XLJDP-M， and XLJDP-H groups and the 5-FU group were significantly downregulated （P<0.05， P<0.01）， and the p-Akt/Akt and p-PI3K/PI3K ratios were significantly decreased in a dose-dependent manner （P<0.05， P<0.01）. ConclusionXianlian Jiedu prescription significantly inhibits the recurrence of CRC in mice after subcutaneous tumor surgery. The mechanism may involve regulating the PI3K/Akt pathway and downregulating key angiogenic proteins such as ANG-2， VEGF， and CD31.