Cancer Pain

Presentation Slides

Chinese Medicine Research Hub

Systematic Review

Acupuncture may be an effective and safe treatment associated with pain reduction in the palliative care of patients with cancer.

2021 BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care Acupuncture for palliative cancer pain management: systematic review
Yang J, Wahner-Roedler DL, Zhou X, et al.

Chinese Medicine Research Hub

Randomised Controlled Trial

Group acupuncture was noninferior to individual acupuncture for treating cancer pain and was superior in many health outcomes. Group acupuncture is more cost-effective for alleviating cancer pain and should be considered for implementation trials.

2020 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine Group versus Individual Acupuncture (AP) for Cancer Pain: A Randomized Noninferiority Trial
Erica Nicole Reed, Jessa Landmann, Devesh Oberoi, Katherine-Ann L. Piedalue, Peter Faris, Linda E. Carlson

Chinese Medicine Research Hub

Systematic Review

Acupuncture and/or acupressure was significantly associated with reduced cancer pain and decreased use of analgesics.

2019 JAMA Oncology Clinical Evidence for Association of Acupuncture and Acupressure With Improved Cancer Pain A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
He Y, Guo X, May BH, et al.

Chinese Medicine Research Hub

Systematic Review

Acupuncture shows promising evidence in cancer palliative care, particularly in reducing therapy-induced side effects and cancer pain.

2013 Chinese Journal of Integrative Medicine Effectiveness of acupuncture for palliative care in cancer patients: A systematic review
Lian, WL., Pan, Mq., Zhou, Dh. & Zhang, ZJ.

Executive Summary

Write an executive summary in the form of a blog article on the topic of "Research into Chinese medicine treatment for Cancer Pain" summarising the research below and using language that can be easily understood by patients and avoiding medical jargon using a professional and caring tone of voice.

Write an executive summary in the form of a blog article on the topic of "Researched Chinese medicine treatments for Cancer Pain" summarising the research below in an objective and easy to understand way, and using language that can be easily understood by patients. Group the article into Chinese medicine treatments first, followed by nutrition and other treatments. Avoid using medical jargon and use a professional and caring tone of voice.

Write me a concise but easy to understand executive summary on the topic of "Chinese medicine treatments for Cancer Pain" based on the following research that I will give you. Your summary should be 2 paragraphs long in Australian English spelling and include references to the studies.

A Systematic Review published in 2021 in the journal BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care found that Acupuncture may be an effective and safe treatment associated with pain reduction in the palliative care of patients with cancer. Five studies (n=189) were included in this systematic review. Results indicated a favourable effect of acupuncture on pain relief in palliative care for patients with cancer. According to OCEBM 2011 Levels of Evidence, they were level 2 in one case (20%), level 3 in two cases (40%) and level 4 in the remaining (40%). Low-level evidence adversely affects the reliability of findings. Acupuncture may be an effective and safe treatment associated with pain reduction in the palliative care of patients with cancer. Further high-quality, adequately powered studies are needed in the future.

A Randomised Controlled Trial published in 2020 in the journal Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine found that Group acupuncture was noninferior to individual acupuncture for treating cancer pain and was superior in many health outcomes. Group acupuncture is more cost-effective for alleviating cancer pain and should be considered for implementation trials. Biweekly acupuncture therapy offered in the group setting for 6 weeks, delivered for half the cost of individual acupuncture, was as effective as individual acupuncture for reducing cancer-related pain interference and severity and was superior to individual acupuncture in improving sleep quality, fatigue, and psychological distress. Group acupuncture may be an effective treatment option for patients who may otherwise be unable to afford it due to relatively high costs and the lack of universal coverage for acupuncture treatment. Where possible, cancer centers and practitioners should consider offering acupuncture in group-based settings, rather than individually, for routine cancer pain treatments as a more cost-effective delivery model.

A Systematic Review published in 2019 in the journal JAMA Oncology found that Acupuncture and/or acupressure was significantly associated with reduced cancer pain and decreased use of analgesics. This study found a moderate level of evidence that acupuncture and/or acupressure was significantly associated with lower pain intensity in patients with cancer compared with a sham control, which suggests a potential for a combination of acupuncture and acupressure to help reduce opioid doses in patients with cancer.

A Systematic Review published in 2013 in the journal Chinese Journal of Integrative Medicine found that Acupuncture shows promising evidence in cancer palliative care, particularly in reducing therapy-induced side effects and cancer pain. The study examined data from 33 randomized clinical trials that investigated the effectiveness of acupuncture in palliative care for cancer patients. The data were collected from seven different databases dating up to December 2010. The extraction and validation process was overseen by two independent reviewers who also assessed the trials using the Jadad scale. The trials evaluated revealed diverse impacts of acupuncture on numerous cancer-related conditions. These include effects on side effects arising from chemotherapy or radiotherapy, cancer pain, post-operative urinary retention and other aspects of quality of life. The results showed promising potential for acupuncture being beneficial in palliative care, particularly in the reduction of chemotherapy or radiotherapy-induced side effects, and pain related to cancer.

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