Clinical Efficacy and Mechanistic Insights of Anshen Dingzhi Prescription on Breast Cancer-Related PTSD Through Network Pharmacology and Molecular Docking

Anshen Dingzhi prescription (ADP) is a classic prescription of traditional Chinese medicine, which has been used in the treatment of neuropsychiatric diseases. However, its treatment of breast cancer-related post-traumatic stress disorder (BC-PTSD) lacks clinical research evidence and its mechanism is not clear. The present study investigated the efficacy and action mechanism of ADP against BC-PTSD. The results of the clinical trial showed that after 4 weeks of treatment, both groups showed reduced post-traumatic stress disorder checklist-civilian version (PCL-C), Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI), self-rating depression scale (SDS) and self-rating anxiety scale (SAS) scores, and increased functional assessment of cancer therapy-breast (FACT-B) scores. The serum cortisol (CORT), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) levels were decreased and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) level were increased, and the improvement of serum TNF-α, IL-1β, and BDNF in treatment group was better than that of the control group. The overall treatment efficacy in the treatment group (43.90%) was superior to that in the control group (23.81%), and the overall incidence of adverse effects was lower than that in the control group. The results of network analysis and molecular docking showed that ADP blood components could act on IL1B, TNF, and BDNF. ADP contributes to the treatment of BC-PTSD symptoms, with a mechanism possibly related to its regulatory effect on TNF-α, IL-1β, and BDNF levels. Trial registration: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, http://www.chictr.org.cn,ChiCTR2300077801