Clinical research on the application of traditional Chinese medicine in malignant hematological diseases after cryoablation of local lesions

Systemic therapies such as chemotherapy and targeted therapy form the cornerstone of treatment for malignant hematologic disease. However, they often face efficacy limitations in treating refractory localized bulky masses, extramedullary infiltrations, or lesions in specialized sites. Cryoablation is a localized minimally invasive physical therapy and provides a new option for "targeted eradication" of such local lesions, boasting multiple advantages such as rapid tumor reduction and alleviation of compressive symptoms. However, its cryogenic effects act as a potent "exogenous cold pathogen, " leading to several complications, such as microvascular constriction and coagulation dysfunction. Furthermore, existing Western medical supportive measures remain relatively limited. To the best of our knowledge, this article is to systematically propose that the core pathogenesis of post-cryoablation injury involves the direct invasion of cold pathogen, leading to congealing and stagnation of qi and blood, damage to yang qi, and involvement of the zang-fu organs. The pathological process is summarized into five key phases: cold damaging yang qi leading to cold syncope; cold congealing and stagnating leading to blood stasis; cold inducing pain; cold damaging spleen yang leading to bleeding; and cold damaging the five zang organs leading to deficiency and failure. This framework constructs a syndrome differentiation system focused on cold, stasis, and deficiency. A sequential treatment protocol based on Danggui Sini Decoction from the Treatise on Cold Pathogenic Diseases is recommended for the post-operative acute phase, subacute/recovery phase, and complications (e.g., hemorrhage, fever, and myelosuppression). This approach establishes a synergistic diagnostic and therapeutic model that combines targeted lesion eradication via cryoablation with holistic regulation of bodily function via traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). This model can alleviate post-operative cold congealing and blood stasis, prevent and treat related complications, and promote the recovery of bodily functions, thereby enhancing the safety of local therapy and the overall therapeutic efficacy. It provides a integrated TCM and Western medicine pathway for the comprehensive treatment of localized refractory lesions in malignant hematologic diseases.