TCM's understanding of gallbladder cancer

Traditional Chinese medicine believes that tumors are caused by "accumulated toxins". There is no name for gallbladder cancer in traditional Chinese medicine books, but "Lingshu Zhanglun" and "Shanghan Lun·Taiyangbing" both describe similar symptoms, such as pain in the diaphragm, resistance to pressure, shortness of breath, hard and fullness under the heart, and yellow body, which are quite similar to gallbladder cancer.

1. Etiology and pathogenesis

According to traditional Chinese medicine, gallbladder cancer is mostly caused by qi stagnation and blood stasis, phlegm accumulation and dampness, internal heat and toxicity, organ dysfunction, qi and blood deficiency, meridian blockage, etc. Due to emotional disorders, improper diet, worm accumulation, and improper water and soil, the liver and gallbladder fail to discharge properly, bile secretion is unfavorable, and it turns into damp heat, phlegm, and poor circulation of qi and blood. At this time, toxic evil inherits and accumulates in the gallbladder, which develops into this disease over time. The disease is characterized by deficiency of the root and excess of the superficial, with a mixture of deficiency and excess, and clinical manifestations are mostly evil and deficiency of the body.

2. Key points of syndrome differentiation

The diagnosis of gallbladder cancer is based on deficiency and excess. The condition is characterized by deficiency in the root and excess in the superficial. The deficiency is in the spleen, stomach, liver, gallbladder, qi and blood, while the excess is in qi stagnation, blood stasis, damp-heat accumulation, and phlegm turbidity obstruction.