Since the medical history has been recorded

tumor is always a major disease which threats human life and health

and how to cure tumor effectively is still one of the most important problems in current medical field. Chinese medicinal formula is the treasure of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)

and it has developed for over two thousand years. Application of Chinese medicinal formula in treating various diseases has a long history under the guide of TCM basic theory. There is no exact word for ‘tumor’ in TCM

but based on the understanding of the pathogenesis of tumor

it can be classified into the category of ‘abnormal mass accumulation’

thus

tumor therapy is an important part of clinical application of Chinese medicinal formula. In the process of tumor treatment

Chinese medicinal formula can fully mobilize the prevention mechanism of human body

play the comprehensive multi-target

multi-level and multi-link regulation effects

and has significant advantages in inhibiting tumor occurrence and development

improving the quality of life and prolonging the survival time of patients. Chinese medicinal formula treatment emphasizes the holistic concept

but because of its variety of chemical compositions

diversity of prescriptions

complexity of pharmacological mechanism and numerous interference factors

the understanding of the interrelation and influence between multi links and multi targets of Chinese medicinal formula is not deep enough. Therefore

the research progress is slow and the international recognition is low. In this paper

the related literature in recent years was collected

collated and summarized

with a researches review on mechanism of anti-tumor effects of Chinese medicinal formula and compound preparations in aspects of inhibiting cell proliferation

affecting cell cycle

inducing differentiation

apoptosis and autophagy

suppressing telomerase activity

tumor invasion and metastasis

controlling angiogenesis and regulating immune status. This paper could provide theoretical basis and scientific basis for prevention and treatment of tumors by TCM.