ABSTRACT
Breast cancer is a malignant tumor with a variety of complex mechanisms. Current researchers generally believe that its cause may be related to living environment， daily mood， heredity， behavior habits， et al， but its specific pathogenesis has not yet been studied clearly. With the rapid increase in the number of breast cancer patients worldwide， the clinical treatment methods in most countries have also been continuously improved. At present， the methods such as surgery， radiotherapy and chemotherapy， immunotherapy， and endocrine therapy are mainly adopted in clinical practice. These methods have increased the survival rate of patients， but still with the possibility of recurrence and metastasis， and there are obvious sequelae. Some postoperative patients also experience psychological pressure and burden， which would greatly affect the quality of life. A large number of experiments and clinical experience have proved that due to its unique advantages， traditional Chinese medicine（TCM） has serially improved its current status in the extensive treatment of breast cancer. No matter in post-operative rehabilitation or in the process of co-radiation and chemotherapy， it has played an increasingly prominent role. TCM can improve human immunity， regulate the body's environment， effectively prevent the recurrence and metastasis of breast cancer， improve postoperative recovery， reduce the complications of radiation treatment and iatrochemistry， expressively improve the quality of life of patients， and prolong the survival time of patients. In recent years， the effectiveness of TCM in the treatment of breast cancer has brought more and more great trust from the patients in TCM， and most patients are willing to actively receive TCM treatment， so the mechanisms and approaches of TCM intervention in the treatment of breast cancer still need further research and exploration by our medical workers. By consulting the latest domestic and foreign literature， we reviewed the research progress on five approaches of TCM intervention in the treatment of breast cancer， including signaling pathways， immunotherapy， endocrine therapy， chemotherapy， and radiotherapy. Signal pathway intervention was explained mainly based on wingless-type MMTV integration site family members（Wnt）signaling pathway ， B-cell lymphoma-2 （Bcl-2）-associated X protein（Bax）/Bcl-2/cysteinyl aspartate specific proteinase-3（Caspase-3）signaling pathway， phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase（PI3K）/protein kinase B（PKB/Akt）/mammalian target of rapamycin（mTOR）signaling pathway， a highly conserved signal transduction pathway to regulate cell-cell communication（Notch）signaling pathway， mitogen-activated proteinkinase （MAPK） signaling pathway， etc. This article aims to provide reference for the treatment of breast cancer by Chinese medicine.