Objective

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To analyze the demographic characteristics， traditional Chinese medicine（TCM）syndromes，and medication patterns of 12 593 gastric cancer patients treated with TCM using portrait technology，and to preliminarily establish patient profiles for gastric cancer.

Methods

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Data from gastric cancer patients treated at Dongzhimen Hospital of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine and Xiyuan Hospital of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences from January 1，2019，to December 31，2022，were retrieved from the institutional databases. Information on gender，age，TCM syndrome types，and Chinese medicine formulas was collected.Feature analysis of gastric cancer patients was performed using Python 3.12.0，R 4.2.3，Cytoscape 3.10.0，etc.，to explore medication pattern rules and present different profile characteristics through word clouds，association network graphs，and other forms.

Results

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Based on characteristics such as gender，age，TCM syndrome，and core medications，12 593 gastric cancer patients were grouped into 4 clusters based on portrait cluster analysis.The first group consisted of 2 001 cases，with the predominant syndrome type being liver qi invading the stomach （58.6%）.The second group had 3 461 cases，and the third group had 5 554 cases，both mainly presenting with phlegm-dampness accumulation syndrome and liver qi invading the stomach syndrome.The fourth group had 1 577 cases，with phlegm-dampness accumulation syndrome accounting for 33.5% and qi stagnation and blood stasis syndrome accounting for 28.7%.High-frequency drugs in the prescriptions included Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma，Poria，Astragali Radix Praeparata cum Melle/Astragali Radix，Codonopsis Radix，Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium，Angelicae Sinensis Radix，Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma Praeparata cum Melle/Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma，Galli Gigerii Endothelium Corneum，Pinelliae Rhizoma，and Amomi Fructus.The total frequency of the four qi categories was 475 times，with cold（36.2%），warm（32.0%），and neutral（21.7%）as the main types.The total frequency of the five flavors was 685 times，with bitter（33.7%），sweet（29.6%），and pungent（24.8%）as the primary tastes.The total frequency of meridian tropisms was 653 times，with the stomach meridian（20.9%），kidney meridian （17.3%），liver meridian （13.5%），and spleen meridian（12.7%）being the most common.High-frequency drugs and their characteristics related to flavors and meridians were consistent across the groups.The association rules for Groups 1，2，3，and 4 were 75，15，26，and 26，respectively.After group screening based on hierarchical tree and heat map results， five core prescriptions were identified.

Conclusion

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Using portrait technology，12 593 gastric cancer patients treated with TCM were preliminarily categorized into four groups，reflecting their TCM syndromes and medication patterns.