Traditional Chinese Medicine for Cancer-Related Fatigue: Evidence, Mechanisms, and Clinical Translation

Lei Huang; Ruxue Fang; Yingjuan Liu; Wenjuan Yang

doi:10.62177/apjcmr.v2i3.1493

Authors

Lei Huang The Fourth People's Hospital of Kunshan
Ruxue Fang The Fourth People's Hospital of Kunshan
Yingjuan Liu The Fourth People's Hospital of Kunshan
Wenjuan Yang Kunshan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.62177/apjcmr.v2i3.1493

Keywords:

Cancer-Related Fatigue, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Herbal Medicine, Acupuncture, Moxibustion, Supportive Oncology, Clinical Translation

Abstract

Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is one of the most prevalent and distressing symptoms experienced by patients with cancer and cancer survivors. It is characterized by persistent physical, emotional, and cognitive exhaustion that is disproportionate to recent activity and is not sufficiently relieved by rest. Because CRF is influenced by inflammation, immune dysregulation, neuroendocrine disturbance, mitochondrial dysfunction, sleep disruption, psychological distress, and treatment-related toxicity, many patients continue to experience clinically significant fatigue despite standard supportive interventions. Conventional management strategies, including exercise, psychosocial interventions, sleep optimization, and selected pharmacological approaches, are recommended in supportive oncology, but their effectiveness may be limited by heterogeneous responses, poor adherence, and the complex symptom burden of cancer patients. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) offers a complementary framework for CRF through syndrome differentiation, restoration of healthy qi, regulation of qi and blood, and patient-tailored multimodal interventions. This review summarizes the TCM conceptualization of CRF, current evidence for herbal medicine, acupuncture, moxibustion, mind-body exercise, acupressure, dietary regulation, and supportive TCM interventions, potential biological mechanisms involving inflammatory regulation, neuroendocrine-metabolic disturbance, gut microbiota homeostasis, and psychoneuroimmunological processes. Clinical translation, safety considerations, outcome assessment, and future research priorities are also discussed. Current evidence supports the potential role of TCM as an adjunctive component of supportive cancer care. However, substantial heterogeneity in study design, syndrome classification, and outcome assessment continues to limit interpretation. Future research should prioritize standardized methodologies, biomarker-integrated evaluation, and pragmatic clinical studies capable of informing real-world implementation.

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