Pharmacogenomics of a traditional Japanese herbal medicine (Kampo) for cancer therapy.

In the present review, we give a short introduction into the history, philosophy and traditional diagnosis and therapy of Kampo, which has its origins in traditional Chinese medicine. The main focus is on pharmacogenomics of natural products derived from Kampo medicinal plants, with special emphasis on cancer treatment. One of these natural products with profound cytotoxicity against tumor cell lines is shikonin from the medicinal plant Lithospermum erythrorhizon. This compound has been selected to demonstrate how molecular determinants of response of tumor cells to Kampo-derived natural products can be investigated by microarray-based approaches. Synthetic or semi-synthetic derivatives of natural products from Kampo medicine may lead to novel drugs with improved features for cancer treatment. Kampo-derived natural products represent a valuable reservoir for individual tumour treatment strategies in the future.