Molecular mechanism and research progress of traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of prostate cancer

Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most common malignant tumors in the male genitourinary system, ranking second in incidence worldwide. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), as an important component of complementary and alternative medicine, shows unique advantages in cancer treatment. Chinese herbal medicine is usually composed of multiple ingredients and involves multiple signaling pathways, which showed function of inducing apoptosis of cancer cells, arresting the cell cycle, inhibiting invasion and metastasis, reducing drug resistance, and regulating immune function. Physical therapy is also an important treatment of TCM. Currently, Physical therapy such as acupuncture or Tai Chi and Qigong are gaining increased recognition in the management of PCa, particularly in addressing issues like urinary incontinence and bone metastasis-related pain. This article reviews the TCM treatment and therapy of PCa, in order to provide new research avenues and treatment options for the treatment of PCa with TCM and improve the quality of life of patients.