1.The distribution pattern of traditional Chinese medicine syndromes and influencing factors for primary liver cancer: An analysis of 415 cases
Zhiyao SHI ; Xiaofei FAN ; Yu GAO ; Shaojian REN ; Shiyu WU ; Xixing WANG
Journal of Clinical Hepatology 2025;41(1):84-91
ObjectiveTo investigate the influencing factors for traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndromes of primary liver cancer, and to provide a theoretical basis for the TCM syndrome differentiation and standardized treatment of liver cancer. MethodsTCM syndrome differentiation was performed for 415 patients who were admitted to Shanxi Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine and were diagnosed with primary liver cancer based on pathological or clinical examinations from January 2019 to December 2023. The chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical data between groups, and the unordered polytomous logistic regression model was used to investigate the influencing factors for TCM syndromes of liver cancer. ResultsThe common initial symptoms of the 415 patients with primary liver cancer included pain in the liver area (31.81%), abdominal distension (25.30%), abdominal pain (15.18%), and weakness (13.98%), and the main clinical symptoms included poor appetite (70.84%), fatigue (69.16%), pain in the liver area (67.47%), poor sleep (59.04%), abdominal distension (53.01%), and constipation (52.53%). There were significant differences in TCM syndromes between patients with different sexes, courses of the disease, clinical stages, Child-Pugh classes, presence or absence of intrahepatic and extrahepatic metastasis, and presence or absence of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) and radiofrequency ablation (all P<0.05). The logistic regression analysis showed that male sex was a risk factor for damp-heat accumulation (odds ratio [OR]=2.036, P=0.048) and the syndrome of spleen-kidney Yang deficiency (OR=5.240, P<0.001); a course of disease of<1 year was a risk factor for damp-heat accumulation (OR=2.837, P=0.004) and syndrome of Qi stagnation and blood stasis (OR=2.317, P=0.021), but it was a protective factor against syndrome of spleen-kidney Yang deficiency (OR=0.385, P=0.005); Child-Pugh class A/B was a protective factor against liver-kidney Yin deficiency (OR=0.079, P<0.001); intrahepatic metastasis was a risk factor for liver-kidney Yin deficiency (OR=5.117, P=0.003) and syndrome of spleen-kidney Yang deficiency (OR=3.303, P=0.010); TACE was a protective factor against liver-kidney Yin deficiency (OR=0.171, P<0.001) and syndrome of spleen-kidney Yang deficiency (OR=0.138, P<0.001); radiofrequency ablation was a risk factor for damp-heat accumulation (OR=4.408, P<0.001) and liver-kidney Yin deficiency (OR=32.036, P<0.001). ConclusionSex, course of disease, Child-Pugh class, intrahepatic metastasis, TACE, and radiofrequency ablation are the main influencing factors for TCM syndromes of liver cancer.
2.Distribution pattern of traditional Chinese medicine syndromes and analysis of influencing factors in pancreatic cancer
Zhiyao SHI ; Shiyu WU ; Shaojian REN ; Yichan LIU ; Yijie YIN ; Yu GAO ; Xixing WANG
Journal of Clinical Hepatology 2025;41(3):528-535
ObjectiveTo investigate the influencing factors for traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndromes in pancreatic cancer by analyzing 608 cases, and to provide a theoretical reference for TCM syndrome differentiation and standardized treatment of pancreatic cancer. MethodsA total of 608 patients with a pathological or clinical diagnosis of pancreatic cancer who were admitted to Shanxi Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, The Affiliated Hospital of Shanxi University of Chinese Medicine, and Shanxi Provincial Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine from January 2019 to December 2023 were enrolled, and TCM syndrome differentiation was performed. The chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical data between groups. The clinical data with statistical significance between groups were included in the regression analysis, and the unordered polytomous logistic regression model was used to investigate the influencing factors for the TCM syndrome of pancreatic cancer. ResultsFor the 608 patients with pancreatic cancer, common initial symptoms included abdominal pain (32.40%), abdominal distension (23.85%), fatigue (16.12%), and emaciation (10.03%), and the main clinical symptoms included poor appetite (75.97%), abdominal pain (67.27%), fatigue (61.84%), abdominal distension (57.40%), and emaciation (53.62%). There were significant differences between the patients with different TCM syndromes of pancreatic cancer in sex (χ2=62.823, P<0.001), disease duration (χ2=14.868, P=0.011), clinical stage (χ2=21.006, P<0.001), lymph node metastasis (χ2=2.205, P=0.032), surgery (χ2=38.008, P<0.001), chemotherapy (χ2=21.384, P<0.001), radiotherapy (χ2=17.510, P=0.004), and immunotherapy (χ2=18.573, P=0.002). The logistic regression analysis showed that male sex was a protective factor against Qi and blood deficiency syndrome (odds ratio [OR]=0.081, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.031 — 0.213, P<0.001), Qi stagnation and blood stasis syndrome (OR=0.100, 95%CI: 0.041 — 0.247, P<0.001), and syndrome of Yin deficiency with internal heat (OR=0.158, 95%CI: 0.057 — 0.444, P<0.001), while it was a risk factor for the syndrome of damp-heat accumulation (OR=2.378, 95%CI: 1.074 — 5.266, P=0.033); the course of the disease of<1 year was a protective factor against Qi and blood deficiency syndrome (OR=0.167, 95%CI: 0.073 — 0.383, P<0.001), syndrome of spleen-kidney Yang deficiency (OR=0.183, 95%CI: 0.089 — 0.378, P<0.001), and syndrome of Yin deficiency and internal heat (OR=0.164, 95%CI: 0.070 — 0.385, P<0.001); clinical stage Ⅰ/Ⅱ/Ⅲ was a risk factor for damp-heat accumulation (OR=2.793, 95%CI: 1.259 — 6.196, P=0.012) and Qi stagnation and blood stasis syndrome (OR=7.863, 95%CI: 2.808 — 22.020, P<0.001); lymph node metastasis was a risk factor for Qi and blood deficiency syndrome (OR=4.005, 95%CI: 1.477 — 10.861, P=0.006); surgical treatment was a risk factor for Qi and blood deficiency syndrome (OR=4.151, 95%CI: 1.916 — 8.995, P<0.001), syndrome of spleen-kidney yang deficiency (OR=5.352, 95%CI: 2.436 — 11.759, P<0.001), Qi stagnation and blood stasis syndrome (OR=2.334, 95%CI: 1.071 — 5.088, P=0.033), and syndrome of Yin deficiency and internal heat (OR=4.167, 95%CI: 1.789 — 9.707, P<0.001); chemotherapy was a protective factor against damp-heat accumulation (OR=0.188, 95%CI: 0.082 — 0.428, P<0.001); radiotherapy was a risk factor for damp-heat accumulation (OR=2.571, 95%CI: 1.151 — 5.746, P=0.021) and syndrome of Yin deficiency with internal heat (OR=8.384, 95%CI: 3.348 — 20.997, P<0.001); immunotherapy was a risk factor for Qi and blood deficiency syndrome (OR=2.114, 95%CI: 1.021 — 4.379, P=0.044). ConclusionSex, course of the disease, clinical stage, presence or absence of lymph node metastasis, surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and immunotherapy are the main influencing factors for the TCM syndrome of pancreatic cancer.