Chemotherapy
Recent Insights
Compared with usual care, acupuncture resulted in significant improvement in chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy symptoms.
Chemotherapy Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy Peripheral Neuropathy
Acupuncture treatment significantly improves neuropathic symptoms in women suffering from chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy after breast cancer therapy.
Cancer Treatment Support Chemotherapy Peripheral Neuropathy
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Research Articles
Published research studies are articles that present the findings of original research that has undergone a peer-review process and has been made publicly available in scholarly journals, books or other media.
Effectiveness of Acupuncture for Relieving Chemotherapy-Induced Bone Marrow Suppression: A Systematic Review with a Meta-analysis and Trial Sequential Analysis
2023 Oct 01 Journal of Integrative and Complementary Medicine Shih YW, Wang MH, Monsen KA, Chang CW, Rias YA, Tsai HT
Acupuncture was found to significantly increase levels of hematopoietic cytokine G-CSF and stimulate the production of various blood components, including white blood cells, red blood cells, neutrophils, absolute neutrophil count, hemoglobin, platelets, and natural killer cells. Cumulative increases over time were observed for platelets and natural killer cells, suggesting that acupuncture may improve chemotherapy-induced bone marrow suppression.
Meta-Analysis Systematic Review Chemotherapy-Induced Bone Marrow Suppression Acupuncture
Acupuncture improves immunity and fatigue after chemotherapy in breast cancer patients by inhibiting the Leptin/AMPK signaling pathway
2023 Aug 05 Supportive Care in Cancer Li J, Fu R, Guo X, Pan Z, Xie J
The Leptin/AMPK signaling pathway is identified as a key molecular pathway affecting fatigue after chemotherapy in breast cancer patients; acupuncture treatment effectively improves post-chemotherapy fatigue, immune status, and reduces mitochondrial DNA mutations.
Experimental Study Clinical Study
Advances on the anti-tumor mechanisms of the carotenoid Crocin
2023 Jun 29 PeerJ Bao X, Hu J, Zhao Y, Jia R, Zhang H, Xia L
Review Article Saffron Breast Cancer Stomach Cancer Crocin Colorectal Cancer Cervical Cancer Liver Cancer Anti-TumourCrocin, a compound derived from saffron, has shown considerable potential in hindering tumor growth and improving immune status, across various malignant tumors.
Acupuncture for the prevention of chemotherapy‐induced nausea and vomiting in cancer patients: A systematic review and meta‐analysis
2023 May 24 Cancer Medicine Yan Y, López‐Alcalde J, Zhang L, Siebenhüner AR, Witt CM, Barth J
Acupuncture, when added to usual care, may increase the complete control of chemotherapy-induced acute vomiting and delayed vomiting compared to usual care alone. However, the certainty of evidence was generally low or very low, and well-designed randomized controlled trials with larger sample sizes and standardized treatment regimens are needed to draw more definitive conclusions.
Systematic Review Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting Acupuncture
Acupuncture for chemotherapy-associated insomnia in breast cancer patients: an assessor-participant blinded, randomized, sham-controlled trial
2023 Apr 26 Breast Cancer Research Zhang J, Qin Z, So TH, Chang TY, Yang S, Chen H, et al.
The active acupuncture regimen, combining needling into body acupoints and acupressure on auricular acupoints, was not superior to sham control in reducing the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) score from baseline to 6 weeks. However, it produced short-term treatment and long-term follow-up better outcomes in improving sleep onset latency, total sleep time, sleep efficiency, anxiety, depression, and quality of life. Participants in the active acupuncture group had a higher cessation rate of sleeping medications than the sham control, indicating that acupuncture could be an effective option for managing chemotherapy-associated insomnia and serve as a tapering approach to reduce the use of sleeping medications in breast cancer patients.
Randomised Controlled Trial Acupuncture Chemotherapy-Associated Insomnia Breast CancerResearch Insights
Insights are moderated by the Research Hub team and offer an at-a-glance overview of interesting research findings.
Crocin, a compound derived from saffron, has shown considerable potential in hindering tumor growth and improving immune status, across various malignant tumors.
2023 PeerJ Advances on the anti-tumor mechanisms of the carotenoid Crocin Bao X, Hu J, Zhao Y, Jia R, Zhang H, Xia L
Review Article Anti-Tumour Breast Cancer Cervical Cancer
The methodology for the study involved an in-depth review of modern pharmacological studies that have analyzed the therapeutic effects of crocin, a natural compound that can be extracted from saffron. Various anti-tumor effects were assessed including the induction of tumor cell death (apoptosis), restrictions on tumor cell proliferation, and potential barriers to invasion and metastasis of these cells. The potential for enhancement of sensitivity to chemotherapy and improvement of immune status were also examined.
Following the review, the study revealed that crocin has significant anti-tumor properties. It showed that this natural compound can induce apoptosis in tumor cells, inhibit their expansion and progression, and even prevent their invasiveness and metastasis. Furthermore, crocin demonstrated the potential to enhance the body’s responsiveness to chemotherapy and help boost the immune system. These effects were observed across a range of different malignant tumors, including stomach, liver, cervical, breast, and colorectal cancers.
ST36 acupoint injections with dexamethasone outperforms conventional western medicine in treating chemotherapy-induced myelosuppression, significantly improving clinical efficacy and recovery.
2021 Frontiers in Oncology Zusanli (ST36) Acupoint Injection With Dexamethasone for Chemotherapy-Induced Myelosuppression: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Chen J, Lin Z, Ding J
Systematic Review Cancer Treatment Support Dexamethasone Myelosuppression
The study executed a systematic evaluation of the efficacy of ST36 acupoint injection with dexamethasone in treating chemotherapy-induced myelosuppression. A total of 17 randomized controlled trials from eight different databases were extracted for this meta-analysis. A detailed examination and analysis of various data gathered were performed using the Cochrane Collaboration tool for bias, Excel 2010 for creating an information extraction database, and RevMan 5.3.0 software for analyzing test data. The quality of evidence was graded using GRADE profiler 3.6 software.
The results indicated that compared to conventional western medicine, ST36 acupoint injection with dexamethasone vastly improved the clinical aggregate effective rate. Notably, it increased the white blood cell count and hemoglobin levels in patients, further enhancing their Karnofsky performance status. The treatment also shortened the recovery time of myelosuppression. However, there were no significant differences observed in platelet elevation between the ST36 acupoint injection with dexamethasone and conventional western medicine.
Acupuncture has been shown to be more effective than vitamin B treatment in terms of clinical efficacy rate for chemotherapy induced peripheral neuropathy.
2020 Medicine A systematic review and meta-analysis of the efficacy of acupuncture and electroacupuncture against chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy Hwang MS, Lee HY, Choi TY, et al.
Systematic Review Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy
Aside from 1 study using sham-EA as a control group, all 12 studies included acupuncture versus pharmacological treatments. The results showed that acupuncture could show a superior clinical efficacy than vitamin B therapy. However, the methodological quality of the involved studies was generally low.
Compared with usual care, acupuncture resulted in significant improvement in chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy symptoms.
2020 JAMA Oncology Effect of Acupuncture vs Sham Procedure on Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy Symptoms A Randomized Clinical Trial Bao T, Patil S, Chen C, et al.
Randomised Controlled Trial Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy Peripheral Neuropathy
We found therapeutic benefit of real acupuncture for neuropathic pain that is consistent with previous pilot acupuncture CIPN trials. Distinctively, our study is the first, to our knowledge, to incorporate a sham treatment and a nontreatment control to evaluate the efficacy of acupuncture for CIPN.
The addition of a sham acupuncture control in an acupuncture clinical trial is difficult owing to the challenge of incorporating a truly inert placebo. In addition, a sham control limits the ability of a small effect size to elucidate a true difference between real and sham acupuncture.
Not only did our study demonstrate the feasibility of conducting a sham-controlled acupuncture trial, it generated sufficient pilot data to inform a definitive sham-controlled efficacy trial. Our trial is limited by its small sample size, single center, and short-term follow-up.
Acupuncture has therapeutic potential in management of cancer-related fatigue for cancer survivors.
2020 Integrative Cancer Therapies The Effects of Acupuncture on Cancer-Related Fatigue: Updated Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Jang A, Brown C, Lamoury G, Morgia M, Boyle F, Marr I, et al.
Systematic Review Acupuncture
Given that CRF is a debilitating symptom among cancer survivors that has proven complex to manage, it is important to explore a wide range of treatment options. The findings of this systematic review and meta-analysis suggest that acupuncture has clinical applications in the management of CRF in conjunction with standard care. Investigating the physiological mechanisms underlying the effects of acupuncture on CRF with biomarkers including cytokines will provide important insights into future clinical applications. Acupuncture for cancer survivors with fatigue, particularly those receiving chemotherapy and radiation therapy that induce fatigue, can have a beneficial effect on fatigue and overall quality of life, when used as an adjunctive intervention to conventional cancer care. Therefore, it is recommended that acupuncture be incorporated into guidelines for the management of CRF in order to improve patient care.
Review Articles
Review articles summarise and critically evaluate the current state of research on a specific topic or field by synthesising multiple primary research studies.
Effectiveness of Acupuncture for Relieving Chemotherapy-Induced Bone Marrow Suppression: A Systematic Review with a Meta-analysis and Trial Sequential Analysis
2023 Oct 01 Journal of Integrative and Complementary Medicine Shih YW, Wang MH, Monsen KA, Chang CW, Rias YA, Tsai HT
Acupuncture was found to significantly increase levels of hematopoietic cytokine G-CSF and stimulate the production of various blood components, including white blood cells, red blood cells, neutrophils, absolute neutrophil count, hemoglobin, platelets, and natural killer cells. Cumulative increases over time were observed for platelets and natural killer cells, suggesting that acupuncture may improve chemotherapy-induced bone marrow suppression.
Meta-Analysis Systematic Review Chemotherapy-Induced Bone Marrow Suppression AcupunctureAdvances on the anti-tumor mechanisms of the carotenoid Crocin
2023 Jun 29 PeerJ Bao X, Hu J, Zhao Y, Jia R, Zhang H, Xia L
Review Article Saffron Breast Cancer Stomach Cancer Crocin Colorectal Cancer Cervical Cancer Liver Cancer Anti-TumourCrocin, a compound derived from saffron, has shown considerable potential in hindering tumor growth and improving immune status, across various malignant tumors.
Acupuncture for the prevention of chemotherapy‐induced nausea and vomiting in cancer patients: A systematic review and meta‐analysis
2023 May 24 Cancer Medicine Yan Y, López‐Alcalde J, Zhang L, Siebenhüner AR, Witt CM, Barth J
Acupuncture, when added to usual care, may increase the complete control of chemotherapy-induced acute vomiting and delayed vomiting compared to usual care alone. However, the certainty of evidence was generally low or very low, and well-designed randomized controlled trials with larger sample sizes and standardized treatment regimens are needed to draw more definitive conclusions.
Systematic Review Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting AcupunctureClinical Efficacy and Potential Mechanisms of Acupoint Stimulation Combined With Chemotherapy in Combating Cancer: A Review and Prospects
2022 Apr 25 Frontiers in Oncology Li S, Zhao S, Guo Y, Yang Y, Huang J, Wang J, et al.
In conclusion, the evidence suggests that acupoint stimulation can alleviate the side effects of chemotherapy and can also assist chemotherapeutic agents in inhibiting tumor growth, which expands the clinical application of acupoint stimulation in cancer treatment.
Review Article
External Treatment With Chinese Herbal Medicine for Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
2022 Feb 18 Frontiers in Pharmacology Li Q, Cai F, Lu Y, Liu H, Wang X, Li F, et al.
Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) external treatment was found to be an effective method for treating chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) as it significantly improved clinical symptoms and quality of life in patients with CIPN.
Systematic Review Meta-Analysis Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN)Clinical Trials
Clinical trials are research studies that involve people and are conducted to evaluate the safety and efficacy of new treatments or interventions, such as drugs, medical devices, or behavioural therapies.
Acupuncture for chemotherapy-associated insomnia in breast cancer patients: an assessor-participant blinded, randomized, sham-controlled trial
2023 Apr 26 Breast Cancer Research Zhang J, Qin Z, So TH, Chang TY, Yang S, Chen H, et al.
The active acupuncture regimen, combining needling into body acupoints and acupressure on auricular acupoints, was not superior to sham control in reducing the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) score from baseline to 6 weeks. However, it produced short-term treatment and long-term follow-up better outcomes in improving sleep onset latency, total sleep time, sleep efficiency, anxiety, depression, and quality of life. Participants in the active acupuncture group had a higher cessation rate of sleeping medications than the sham control, indicating that acupuncture could be an effective option for managing chemotherapy-associated insomnia and serve as a tapering approach to reduce the use of sleeping medications in breast cancer patients.
Randomised Controlled Trial Acupuncture Chemotherapy-Associated Insomnia Breast Cancer
Efficacy of Press Needle at PC6 Neiguan and ST36 Zusanli as Adjuvant Therapy in Reducing Symptoms of Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting in Pediatric Cancer Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy
2022 Apr 01 Medical Acupuncture Bintoro DA, Nareswari I, Andriastuti M
Press needle acupuncture is able to reduce the Rhodes index of nausea, vomiting, and retching (RINVR) score and can be applied to pediatric patients because of its minimal side effects, but further research is needed to determine the appropriate treatment time.
Randomised Controlled Trial Acupuncture Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting Vomiting NauseaElectroacupuncture Plus Auricular Acupressure for Chemotherapy-Associated Insomnia in Breast Cancer Patients: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial
2021 Jan Integrative Cancer Therapies Zhang J, Qin Z, So TH, Chen H, Lam WL, Yam LL, et al.
Acupuncture demonstrated significant improvements in the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) scores, total sleep time, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) scores, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) depression scores, and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast Cancer (FACT-B) scores compared to the wait-list control group. The study suggests that acupuncture is safe, feasible, and effective for chemotherapy-associated insomnia in breast cancer patients, warranting further confirmation through a larger sample size randomized clinical trial.
Randomised Controlled Trial
ATAS Acupuncture Reduces Chemotherapy Induced Fatigue in Breast Cancer Through Regulating ADROA1 Expression: A Randomized Sham-Controlled Pilot Trial
2020 Nov OncoTargets and Therapy Li YF, Liu DQ, Nie JY, Chen DD, Yan M, Zuo Z, et al.
ATAS acupuncture was shown to be effective in improving symptoms, including fatigue, anxiety, and insomnia throughout the chemotherapy process, with the ATAS acupuncture group exhibiting decreased VAS-F scores and lower MFI-20 scores compared to the sham and non-acupuncture groups. The mechanism of ATAS acupuncture's fatigue reduction may be associated with the ADROA1 gene, regulating the cGMP/PKG pathway.
Randomised Controlled Trial
Electroacupuncture trigeminal nerve stimulation plus body acupuncture for chemotherapy-induced cognitive impairment in breast cancer patients: An assessor-participant blinded, randomized controlled trial
2020 Aug Brain, Behavior, and Immunity Zhang ZJ, Man SC, Yam LL, Yiu CY, Leung RCY, Qin ZS, et al.
Results suggest that EA/TNS + BA may have particular benefits in reducing chemotherapy-induced working memory impairment and the incidence of certain digestive, neurological, and distress-related symptoms. It could serve as an effective intervention for breast cancer patients under and post chemotherapy
Randomised Controlled Trial Cognitive Function Acupuncture Breast Cancer ChemotherapyPresentation Slides
Crocin, a compound derived from saffron, has shown considerable potential in hindering tumor growth and improving immune status, across various malignant tumors.
ST36 acupoint injections with dexamethasone outperforms conventional western medicine in treating chemotherapy-induced myelosuppression, significantly improving clinical efficacy and recovery.
Acupuncture has been shown to be more effective than vitamin B treatment in terms of clinical efficacy rate for chemotherapy induced peripheral neuropathy.
Compared with usual care, acupuncture resulted in significant improvement in chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy symptoms.
Acupuncture has therapeutic potential in management of cancer-related fatigue for cancer survivors.
Acupuncture treatment significantly improves neuropathic symptoms in women suffering from chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy after breast cancer therapy.
(-)-Epigallocatechingallate (EGCG), a natural product, has potent anti-proliferation, anti-metastasis, and pro-apoptosis effects on cervical cancer cells, enhancing the effects of conventional drugs.
Acupuncture can be adopted as part of a multimodal approach for reducing cancer-related pain.
Acupuncture shows promising evidence in cancer palliative care, particularly in reducing therapy-induced side effects and cancer pain.
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