Traditional Chinese medicine, Fuzheng Kang-Ai decoction, inhibits metastasis of lung cancer cells through the STAT3/MMP9 pathway

Lung cancer is a leading cause of cancer-associated mortality worldwide, including in developing countries such as China. Traditional Chinese medicine may provide a novel insight for the treatment of patients with lung cancer. The present study aimed to uncover the mechanism by which the Chinese herbal medicine, Fuzheng Kang-Ai (FZKA), functions on lung cancer cell metastasis. The results demonstrated that treatment with FZKA markedly inhibited cell viability, migration and invasion of lung cancer cells, as determined by cell viability and Transwell assays. Notably, the activity and expression of matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9) was significantly inhibited by FZKA treatment on lung cancer cells, as determined by an MMP9 activity assay and western blot analysis. Furthermore, FZKA markedly inhibited epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of lung cancer cells by inhibiting the expression of the mesenchymal markers N-cadherin and vimentin. In addition, activation of the oncoprotein signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) was suppressed following treatment with FZKA. Conversely, overexpression of STAT3 was able to rescue MMP9 activity following FZKA treatment. The present study indicated that FZKA may inhibit lung cancer metastasis via the STAT3/MMP9 pathway and EMT, suggesting that FZKA may serve as a novel promising therapeutic strategy for the treatment of patients with late stage lung cancer.