Objectified Study on Tongue Images of Patients with Lung Cancer of Different Syndromes

Objective:To describe the characteristic of tongue images of patients with lung cancer of different Chinese medicine(CM) syndromes and to reveal the elemental rule on the changes of the tongue images. Methods:A total of 207 patients with lung cancer were divided into four syndrome groups according to the theory of CM:Fei(肺) and Shen(肾) deficiency syndrome(Group A,72 cases),Pi(脾) deficiency and phlegm dampness syndrome(Group B,57 cases),phlegm-heat retention in Fei(Group C,36 cases) and yin asthenia generating intrinsic heat syndrome(Group D,42 cases).The tongue parameters were detected by tongue image digital analysis instrument,and the tongue images were described with qualitative,tongue color and quantitative analysis,respectively.The International Commission on Illumination(CIE) L~*a~*b~*(CIELAB) color model was used for the quantitative classification.Results:There was a significant statistical difference between different syndrome groups of lung cancer on tongue color,coating color,and thickness of tongue coating(P