Correlation Analysis between Traditional Chinese Medicine Syndromes and Estrogen/Progesterone Receptors before and after Adjuvant Chemotherapy in Breast Cancer

Abstract This study aims to explore the correlation between traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndromes and the expression status of estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) in breast cancer patients before and after adjuvant chemotherapy. A total of 222 breast cancer patients with consistent ER and PR expression scheduled to undergo adjuvant chemotherapy were classified according to TCM syndrome differentiation before and after chemotherapy. The data were analyzed using chi-square tests and binary logistic regression with SPSS 26.0 software, and compared with ER/PR expression results. (i) In the ER-positive/PR-positive group, compared with prechemotherapy, syndromes of spleen qi deficiency, spleen deficiency with dampness-phlegm, and spleen–kidney deficiency significantly increased during mid-chemotherapy and after chemotherapy. Compared with mid-chemotherapy, spleen yang deficiency syndrome significantly increased after chemotherapy, with statistical significance (p < 0.05). (ii) In the ER-negative/PR-negative group, compared with prechemotherapy, syndromes of spleen qi deficiency and spleen deficiency with dampness-phlegm significantly increased during mid-chemotherapy, while spleen qi deficiency, spleen yang deficiency, and spleen–kidney deficiency significantly increased after chemotherapy. Compared with mid-chemotherapy, spleen–kidney deficiency and spleen yang deficiency syndromes significantly increased after chemotherapy, with statistical significance (p < 0.05). (iii) The distribution of spleen qi deficiency syndrome during mid-chemotherapy and after chemotherapy was significantly higher in the ER-positive/PR-positive group than in the ER-negative/PR-negative group, with statistical significance (p < 0.05). (iv) ER and PR were not independent influencing factors for the various syndrome types before and after adjuvant chemotherapy (p > 0.05). After chemotherapy initiation, syndromes of spleen qi deficiency, spleen yang deficiency, and spleen–kidney deficiency significantly increased in both ER-positive/PR-positive and ER-negative/PR-negative groups. The distribution of spleen qi deficiency during mid-chemotherapy and after chemotherapy was significantly higher in the ER-positive/PR-positive group than in the ER-negative/PR-negative group. ER and PR were not independent influencing factors for the syndrome types before and after adjuvant chemotherapy.