Abstract:
Objective To investigate the distribution of Chinese medicine constitution and analyze the prognostic factors among cases with the primary liver cancer (PLC).
Methods The standardized classification measurement questionnaire of nine constitutions in Chinese medicine was used to investigate the Chinese medicine constitution of 151 PLC patients. The impacts of this Chinese medicine constitution and other factors for prognosis of PLC were analyzed.
Results The types of Chinese medicine constitutions were as follows: gentleness, qi-deficiency, yang-deficiency, wet-heat, qi-depression, blood-stasis, special diathesis, yin-deficiency, and phlegm-wetness. The number of corresponding patients per constitution were as follows: 37 (24.5%), 36 (23.8%), 25 (16.6%), 21 (13.9%), 14 (9.3%), 10 (6.6%), 4 (2.6%), 2 (1.3%), and 2 (1.3%), respectively. Univariate and multivariate analyses indicated that qi-deficiency type, TNM stating, AFP level, and CLIP score were independent prognostic factors for survival time, and that qi-deficiency type was an important independent factor that might be worth further investigation for predicting prognosis.
Conclusion The constitutions of Chinese medicine in patients with PLC were predominantly gentleness, qi-deficiency, yang-deficiency, and wet-heat types. Qi-deficiency type was a strong independent prognostic factor for survival of PLC patients.