Research advances in traditional Chinese medicine syndromes in cancer patients

Traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） syndrome, also known as TCM ZHENG or TCM pattern, is an integral and essential part of TCM theory that helps to guide the design of individualized treatments. ATCM syndrome, in essence, is a characteristic profile of all clinical manifestations in one patient that can be readily identified by a TCM practitioner. In this article, the authors reviewed the presentations of TCM syndromes in seven common malignancies （liver, lung, gastric, breast, colorectal, pancreatic and esophageal cancers）, the objectivity and the standardization of TCM syndrome differentiation, the evaluation of TCM syndrome modeling in cancer research, and syndrome differentiation-guided TCM treatment of cancers. A better understanding of TCM syndrome theory, as well as its potential biologica basis, may contribute greatly to the clinical TCM diagnosis and the treatment of cancer.

Traditional Chinese Medicine Syndromes Distribution in Colorectal Cancer and its Association with Western Medicine Treatment and Clinical Laboratory Indicators

Objective:The objective of the study is to explore the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndrome distribution in colorectal cancer (CRC) and its correlation with treatment methods and clinical laboratory indicators.Materials and Methods: Using the CRC cases report form of TCM,760 CRC patients with TCM four diagnosis information,western medicine treatment information and clinical laboratory indicators were collected,and TCM syndromes distribution in CRC were summarized.The correlation between TCM syndrome type and western medicine treatments,clinical laboratory indicators such as liver and kidney function,immune function,and tumor biomarkers was analyzed. Results:In 760 cases of CRC, Spleen deficiency syndrome (SDS, 25%),liver and kidney Yin deficiency syndrome (LKYDS, 13%), LKYDS-SDS,12%,spleen deficient Qi stagnation syndrome (SDQSS, 10%),and damp heat syndrome (DHS, 9%) were more common TCM syndrome types.LKYDS, SDS,LKYDS-SDS,and SDQSS were significantly distributed under different treatment methods (P < 0.001).There was no statistically significant difference in the distribution of immune fUnction and cytokine among the five TCM syndromes (P > 0.05),but there was statistically significant difference in the distribution of blood routine,liver and kidney function, and tumor biomarkers (P < 0.05). Conclusion: LKYDS,SDS,LKYDS-SDS, SDQSS,and DHS were the first five TCM syndromes in CRC.There were the significant correlations between the distribution of TCM syndrome and the clinical laboratory indicators,and the distribution of TCM syndromes was affected by surgery, radiotherapy,and chemotherapy.