Treatment of Cancer-Related Insomnia with Classical Chinese Medicine Formulas: Diagnostic Thinking and Clinical Application
Abstract：Cancer-related insomnia (CRI) is a common complication in cancer patients, which may be accompanied by anxiety, depression, and other mental disorders, leading to decreased daytime mental state, social ability, executive function, and cognitive ability, causing serious impact on the quality of life and prognosis of cancer patients. However, Western medicine treatment has limitations such as side effects and drug resistance. There are no relevant records of CRI in ancient medical texts. Clinically, its manifestations can be classified into the category of 'insomnia' in traditional Chinese medicine, which highly corresponds to terms such as 'not being able to lie down', 'not being able to sleep', and 'restless sleep' in the Treatise on Cold Damage and Miscellaneous Diseases. Therefore, this article explores the academic experience of using classical formulas to treat CRI with three methods: harmonizing, tonifying, and clearing, aiming to provide guidance and reference for the clinical application of classical formulas in CRI.
Keywords：Cancer-related insomniaInsomniaTreatise on Cold Damage and Miscellaneous DiseasesHarmonizingTonifyingClearing
Publication Date：2025-08-15
Online Publishing Date：2025-11-17(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：3( 68-70 )