细胞焦亡是一种非凋亡形式的新型程序性细胞死亡方式。通过caspase‐1依赖的经典途径和caspase‐4/5/11依赖的非经典途径激活Gasdermin蛋白，导致细胞膜孔形成，伴随炎症小体激活释放炎性因子IL-1β和IL-18，最终导致细胞死亡。近年来越来越多研究发现细胞焦亡与肿瘤的发生发展密切相关。细胞焦亡相关的炎症小体、caspase酶、Gasdermin蛋白等参与肿瘤细胞生长、迁移、分化，诱导细胞焦亡可发挥肿瘤抑制功能并引起抗肿瘤免疫反应，表明细胞焦亡是抗肿瘤治疗的重要靶点。本文通过综述细胞焦亡的发生机制及其在肿瘤中的作用，总结分析中草药有效成分通过细胞焦亡途径发挥抗肿瘤作用的分子机制，以期为肿瘤的预防和治疗提供新思路、新策略。

Pyroptos is a recently identified programmed cell death, different with apoptosis. Pyroptosis mainly includes the canonical pathway of caspase‐1 dependence and the non‐canonical pathway involving caspase‐4/5/11, which cleaves Gasdermin protein family to mediate the formation of membrane pores. The loss of plasma membrane accompanied by inflammasome activation integrity promotes the release of inflammatory interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-18, cell swelling and, finally, pyroptosis. Recently, there has been an increasing interest in pyroptosis due to its emerging role in the occurrence and development of tumors. Inflammasome, caspase and Gasdermin protein associated with pyroptosis plays an important role in inhibiting the growth, migration and differentiation of tumor cells. Pyroptosis is an important target for anti-tumor therapy by regulating tumor inhibition and anti-tumor immune response. In this review, we provided an overview of the latest findings that have propelled our understanding of the role of pyroptosis in the antitumor activity of Chinese herbal medicine. The crucial function will undoubtedly become a focused area in coming years, providing a new direction for therapeutic strategies focusing on the clinical prevention and treatment of cancers.

国家自然科学基金委员会面上项目(编号：25171060)；湖南省自然科学基金委员会面上项目(编号：2019JJ40222)；2020年度湖南中医药大学中西医结合一流学科开放基金项目（编号：2020ZXYJH68）