Advances on mechanisms and structural classification of Chinese herbal monomers against hepatocellular carcinoma

Figure 1 Schematic overview of key mechanisms in hepatocarcinogenesis and their modulation by Chinese herbal monomers. It illustrates the core biological processes including tumor cell proliferation, apoptosis, autophagy, ferroptosis, cell cycle progression, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, angiogenesis, metastasis, drug resistance and immune evasion, as well as the intervention targets of Chinese herbal monomers in these processes. EMP: Endothelial microparticles; STAT3: Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3; MMP: Matrix metalloproteinase; JAK: Janus kinase; IL-6: Interleukin-6; HCC: Hepatocellular carcinoma; PI3K: Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase; AKT: Protein kinase B; mTOR: Mechanistic target of rapamycin; MDSC: Myeloid-derived suppressor cell; VM: Vasculogenic mimicry.