Abstract LB-051: AnAstragalus-based Chinese herbal medicine extraction inhibits cancer stem cell growth and sensitizes of drug-resistant human non-small cell lung cancer cells for targeted therapy

Chinese herbal medicine has been used extensively as a complementary intervention for many diseases including cancer, based on its relatively lower cytotoxicity and side-effects. The major criticism of its clinical use remains the scientific based evidence. Here, we described a precision-based translational approach to identify and validate an Astragalus-based herbal medicine (YQ1) as an antagonist of non-small cell lung cancer. Using various big data analysis approaches, we found that the L1000 profiles of YQ1was associated with anti-cancer stem cell signatures. It suggested that treatment of YQ1 might reduce cancer stem cell population. Experimentally, YQ1 treatment resulted in the significant reduction in lung cancer stem cell properties, including side population, sphere formation, stemness marker expression, and drug resistance. YQ1 may have anti-cancer stem cell ability via suppressing Wnt/β-catenin signaling to inhibit the self-renewal or/and proliferation of lung cancer stem cells. Notably, the combination of YQ1 and gefitinib significantly suppresses tumorigenesis in vivo, reflected by the down-regulation of EGFR signaling and β-catenin. Collectively, we provided preclinical evidence for using YQ1 as a cancer stem cell inhibitor to potentiate anti-tumor effects when combined with tyrosine-kinase inhibitors to significantly improve therapeutic efficacy in NSCLC patients. Citation Format: Tse-Hung Huang, Hsuan-Min Hsu, Chi-Ying F. Huang. An Astragalus-based Chinese herbal medicine extraction inhibits cancer stem cell growth and sensitizes of drug-resistant human non-small cell lung cancer cells for targeted therapy [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-051.