Evidence mapping is a novel method of evidence synthesis that has been increasingly applied in the field of TCM in recent years. This article provided a comprehensive and detailed introduction to the origin, definition, and characteristics of evidence mapping. It systemically reviewed and summarized published studies on evidence mapping in TCM, exploring common issues encountered during the production and reporting of TCM evidence mapping research. Such issues included the failure to highlight the advantages of TCM in the research topic, lack of prior registration of the study, limited scope of searches, unclear inclusion and exclusion criteria, insufficient standardization in literature screening and data extraction, inadequate overall quality assessment, obscure process of evidence synthesis, lack of targeted evidence analysis, and insufficiently standardized reporting of results. Corresponding improvement strategies were proposed to enhance the quality of TCM evidence mapping literature, increase the reliability and applicability of research outcomes, and thereby promote the modernization and internationalizati.

Objective To explore the acupoint selection law for acupoint stimulation to improve gastrointestinal function after colorectal cancer surgery based on data mining technology.Methods Literature about acupoint stimulation to improve gastrointestinal function was retrieved from CNKI,VIP,Wanfang Data,SinoMed,PubMed,Web of Science and Cochrane Library from the establishment of databases to July 1,2023.Data extraction and analysis were performed using Excel 2021.Association rule analysis and clustering analysis were conducted using R language.Results Totally 197 articles were collected,with 242 combinations of acupoints involving 69 acupoints and the total use frequency of acupoints was 878 times.The top 3 acupoints used in frequency were Zusanli(ST36),Shangjuxu(ST37),and Neiguan(PC6).The top 3 involved meridians were the stomach meridian,Conception Vessel,and spleen meridian.The acupoints were mainly distributed in the lower limbs,and the most commonly used intervention method was needle punching.The association analysis discovered a combination of acupoints centered around Zusanli(ST36),which included Shangjuxu(ST37),Neiguan(PC6),and Sanyinjiao(SP6).Clustering analysis identified 4 effective cluster combinations.Conclusion Acupoint stimulation improves gastrointestinal function after colorectal cancer surgery.Multiple acupoint selection ideas are used,and the summarized acupoint selection and compatibility law in this study can provide reference for clinical research and application.

Objective To analyze the acupoint selection rule for cancer-related fatigue with acupoint stimulation using data mining techniques.Methods Clinical randomized controlled trial research literature about treatment for cancer-related fatigue with acupoint stimulation was retrieved from CNKI,Wanfang Data,VIP,SinoMed,PubMed,Web of Science and Embase from establishment of the databases to October 13,2023.The frequency anlysis,association rule analysis and clustering analysis on acupoints were performed using Excel 2021 and R 4.3.1.Results Totally 187 articles were included,with 214 combinations of acupoints involving 102 acupoints,with a total frequency of 1 044.The most frequently used acupoints were Zusanli(ST36),Qihai(CV6),and Guanyuan(CV4).The top three meridians used were the Conception Vessel,stomach meridian,and spleen meridian.The acupoints were mainly distributed in the lower limbs and thoracoabdominal,and the most commonly used specific acupoint was the crossing point.Moxibustion was the most commonly used intervention measure.Association rule analysis indicated that the core combination of acupoints in this study was Zusanli(ST36),Qihai(CV6),Guanyuan(CV4),and Sanyinjiao(SP6).Analysis of acupoint selection for cancer-related fatigue with different types of cancer demonstrated that acupoints with tonifying properties were most frequently chosen.Clustering analysis identified five effective combinations of acupoints.Conclusion The acupoint selection for treating cancer-related fatigue should focus on tonifying qi and nourishing blood,as well as supporting healthy qi to eliminate pathogenic factors.Special attention is given to the use of specific acupoints,and various acupoint combination methods are employed based on the differentiation of zang-fu organs and meridians to enhance clinical efficacy.

Background and purpose:Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women. The new technology of mammography is helpful in breast cancer diagnosis. This study aimed to compare the efficacy of digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) with conventional imaging methods in the diagnosis of benign and malignant breast lesions.Methods:During the period from Mar. 2015 to Dec. 2015, 227 patients with suspected lesions (by palpation or sonography) underwent further imaging exam in our hospital. The sonography, full-field digital mammography (FFDM), DBT and breast MRI were performed on all the patients. A double-blind assessment was carried out according to BI-RADS (version 2013) by experienced radiologists. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the diagnostic efficiency of all methods, referring to the pathological data as the golden standard; the difference in the efficiency of DBT from the other methods was determined byZ-test.Results:Thirty patients were excluded for the unsatisfactory images, and 205 lesions (132 malignant and 73 benign lesions) were detected in the remaining 197 patients. Area under the curve (AUC) of sonography, FFDM, DBT, DBT+FFDM and MRI based on the BI-RADS were 0.8308, 0.8592, 0.9167, 0.9198, and 0.9354, respectively. The AUC of DBT was significantly higher than those of sonography (Z=7.36,P=0.0067) and FFDM (Z=4.89,P=0.0271), while there was no significantly difference between DBT and MRI (Z=0.02,P=0.9002) or FFDM+DBT (Z=0.69,P=0.4048).Conclusion:DBT could significantly improve the diagnostic performance for breast lesions compared with sonography and FFDM, providing a comparable efficiency to MRI. As a new mammography technology, DBT has good clinical application prospect.