Cognitive modelling of Chinese herbal medicine’s effect on breast cancer

Abstract

Purpose: Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has recently attracted increasing interests in cancer treatment. It was found that TCM-based treatment, combined with other therapies, can help improve patients’ life quality. However, the existing research in TCM lacks a systematic modelling for the causal relationship of the factors related to the diagnosis and decision making. Methods: In this paper, we proposed the use of fuzzy cognitive map (FCM) to represent the cognition of TCMs usage in cancer treatment. Results: Through a case analysis, we analyse and summarise the effects of Chinese herbal medicine in breast cancer management. Conclusion: FCMs can visually represent the cognitive knowledge, particularly the causal relationship among key factors of TCM effects and the related breast cancer status.