Abstract: Background and purpose: Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) syndrome has different characteristics from symptom management of Western medicine. This study was focused on the characteristics of TCM syndrome in advanced cancer patients, and to study the correlation between TCM syndrome and Western medicine symptoms and their correlation with the survival time of patients. Methods: The symptom distribution and intensity of the patients were collected through MD Anderson Symptom Inventory-Chinese (MDASI-C). TCM syndrome was correlated by four ways of Chinese diagnosis (looking, listening, questioning and feeling the pulse). SPSS Statistical software package was used to analyze and process the data. Descriptive analysis was applied to the analysis of demographic and clinical characteristics. The t test and χ² test were performed for patients with syndrome differentiation type Ⅳ and other groups. The survival time was calculated using Kaplan-Meier method, and log-rank test was performed to measure the difference. Results: According to TCM syndrome differentiation, 82 cases (36%) were diagnosed with liver and kidney Yin deficiency. Compared with the other 5 types, the frequency and intensity of fatigue and dyspnea were higher in patients with liver and kidney Yin deficiency. There was significant difference in survival time between type Ⅳ patients and other 5 type patients (P<0.05). Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) score and type Ⅳ TCM syndrome were the survival prognostic factors in advanced cancer patients. Conclusion: Through this study, we have enhanced the identification of TCM syndrome differentiation in the survival of patients with advanced cancer, and improved the accuracy of predicting the survival of patients with advanced cancer. In clinical work, TCM syndrome can be used to assist in the detection of disease changes. It may help clinicians to assess survival prognosis.

Key words: Advanced cancer patients, Traditional Chinese Medicine syndrome, Symptom management, Quality of life, Survival