Exploring the “Guiding Fire Back to Its Origin” Method for Endocrine Therapy–Related Hot Flashes in Breast Cancer from the Perspective of “Displacement of Dragon Fire”

Corresponding author: GAO Xiufei, gaoxiufei@zcmu.edu.cn

DOI: 10.12201/bmr.202604.00117

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  Abstract: Endocrine therapy after breast cancer surgery frequently induces hot flashes, which significantly impair patients’ quality of life and adherence to treatment. In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), the core pathogenesis of this condition is summarized as the “displacement of dragon fire,” with two major syndromic patterns: “insufficient water failing to nourish the dragon, leading to yin deficiency and floating yang”; and “cold water failing to store the dragon, resulting in lower cold and upper heat”. The therapeutic principle of Guiding Fire Back to Its Origin (Yin Huo Gui Yuan), a representative reverse-regulation strategy in TCM, restores displaced ministerial fire to the kidney origin through nourishing yin to subdue yang or warming and tonifying kidney yang. This mechanism shows high consistency with the pathogenesis of hot flashes induced by endocrine therapy. Based on TCM theory, this paper preliminarily explores the theoretical foundation and potential clinical value of this method in managing endocrine therapy–related hot flashes in breast cancer, aiming to provide new insights for treatment.

  Key words: guiding fire back to its origin; hot flashes; breast cancer; endocrine therapy

  Submit time: 14 April 2026

  Copyright: The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted biomedRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity.
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• ID	Submit time	Number	Download
  1	2026-04-02	10.12201/bmr.202604.00117V1	Download

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