Abstract:Pathological mood changes, mainly depression, occurring during the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer are referred to as breast cancer-related depression (BCRD). Numerous epidemiological and clinical studies have confirmed that BCRD is a complex condition that is difficult to treat and has a poor prognosis. Most existing clinical treatments involve the use of postoperative chemotherapy for breast cancer, and antidepressant drugs, which treat breast cancer and depression as two independent diseases and have various disadvantages such as low efficiency and strong adverse reactions. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has a unique value in the prevention and treatment of BCRD via its ability to regulate multiple pathways and targets using multiple components at the same time. In this paper, we review the mechanism of BRCD and the therapeutic mechanisms of TCM from the aspects of neurological disorders, inflammatory immune response, and intestinal flora disorders, with a view to providing references for the clinical application and research of TCM in the treatment of BCRD.