Objective:To review the current research and existing problems of symptom cluster sentinel symptoms in cancer patients both domestically and internationally, so as to provide reference for future research.Methods:The literature on sentinel symptoms of cancer symptom clusters, from the establishment of the database until November 8, 2023, was electronically searched on platforms such as China National Knowledge Infrastructure, WanFang Data, VIP, China Biomedical Database, PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Embase and so on. Descriptive statistical analysis was conducted.Results:Sixteen articles were included, with an overall upward trend in publication volume, including 10 Chinese articles and 6 English articles. The sentinel symptom hotspots of cancer patients' symptom clusters mainly included: (1) the number of symptoms included in the analyzed symptom clusters was 3 to 13, the number of symptom clusters was 1 to 8, and the number of sentinel symptoms explored in each literature was 1 to 8; (2) Identification and dynamic changes of sentinel symptoms in symptom clusters; (3) Differences in sentinel symptoms among different symptom groups of cancer patients; (4) Analyzing specific sentinel symptoms of symptom groups based on different statistical methods; (5) Intervention based on sentinel symptoms of symptom clusters.Conclusions:In recent years, the symptom cluster sentinel symptoms of cancer patients have received attention from researchers at home and abroad, but there are problems such as uneven development and inconsistent research methods. High quality identification research is needed to make the included population specific and the methods scientifically unified, and to focus on the impact and mechanism of symptom cluster sentinel symptoms on patient outcomes in symptom clusters, so as to investigate potential mechanisms and promote effective symptom management.