Abstract—Glioma is the most prevalent and aggressive primary malignant tumor of the central nervous system, with a dismal clinical prognosis. Current standard treatments, including surgical resection, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, have long been limited, severely constrained by the blood-brain barrier, drug resistance, and unavoidable systemic adverse effects. However, in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the accumulation of the phlegm-dampness pathogen is identified as a core pathogenetic mechanism of glioma. This paper systematically elucidates the anti-glioma effects and pharmacological mechanisms of Chinese medicinal herbs that expel phlegm, such as centipede and radish seed, among others. This paper summarizes their main ingredients, key therapeutic targets, and signaling pathways, and accordingly provides theoretical support for TCM clinical application in glioma treatment. The results of this study confirm that phlegm-resolving and phlegm-dissipating Chinese medicines have definite therapeutic effects on glioma, and their anti-tumor activities are mainly mediated by various active substances acting on multiple molecular targets and signaling pathways.
 
Keywords—glioma, expectorant, phlegm-resolving drug, traditional Chinese medicine, Chinese material medica

Cite: Ziyao Li, "Therapeutic Effects of Traditional Chinese Medicine on Glioma: A Case Study of Phlegm-removing and Phlegm-resolving Herbs," International Journal of Pharma Medicine and Biological Sciences, Vol. 15, No. 4, pp. 120-124, 2026.

Copyright © 2026 by the authors. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited (CC BY 4.0).