Prophylactic acupuncture treatment during chemotherapy with breast cancer: a randomized pragmatic trial with a retrospective nested qualitative study

Brinkhaus, Benno; Kirschbaum, Barbara; Stöckigt, Barbara; Binting, Sylvia; Roll, Stephanie; Carstensen, M. H.; Witt, Claudia M.

doi:10.1007/s10549-019-05431-5

Cited by 20 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…The reduction of side effects suggests a better QoL; nevertheless, a better QoL in the acupuncture group than in the control group was not observed in either the qualitative or the quantitative study, with most women in both groups reporting a better QoL than expected beforehand. 22 …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…From each treatment group (acupuncture treatments in addition to standard care and standard care alone) within our pragmatic RCT trial, 5 responders and 5 non-responders were randomly selected according to the results of the RCT as following ( Table 1 ): Responder and non-responder were defined by the results of the primary outcome, the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast (FACT-B) total score after 6 months. 22 , 24 A responder was defined as a patient whose FACT-B total score has increased or decreased less than 7 points after 6 months. The randomization for the interviews followed the chemotherapy regime in subsequent order, including patients with completed FACT-B questionnaires at baseline, after 3 months and after 6 months.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The secondary outcomes yielded similar results; however, most patients in the acupuncture group rated the overall effectiveness positively and were satisfied with the acupuncture treatment. 22 The retrospective qualitative study presented in this paper was nested in the RCT mentioned above. The aim of this qualitative study and the integration of this mixed methods approach were to better understand the subjective perspectives of the patients about QoL during chemotherapy in general and the perceived effects of acupuncture and to triangulate the results of the validated questionnaires in a secondary analysis.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Prophylactic Acupuncture Treatment during Chemotherapy in Patients with Breast Cancer – Results of a Qualitative Study nested in a Randomized Pragmatic Trial

Stöckigt

Kirschbaum²,

Carstensen³

et al. 2021

Integr Cancer Ther

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Background: In a randomized controlled trial, compared with standard care alone in breast cancer, acupuncture as a prophylactic treatment did not show better quality of life or fewer side effects of chemotherapy (NCT01727362 [clinicaltrials.gov]). The aim of the qualitative part of this mixed methods study was to better understand the subjective perspectives of the patients regarding quality of life during chemotherapy and the perceived effects of acupuncture. Methods: In a nested retrospective qualitative study, semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with 5 responders and 5 non-responders (defined by the outcome of the primary parameter FACT-B) who were randomly selected from both study arms. The interviews were digitally recorded, pseudonymized, transcribed, and then deductively and inductively analyzed according to Qualitative Content Analysis using MAXQDA® software. Results: A total of 20 patients were included in the qualitative part of the study. In both groups, most women stated that their quality of life was surprisingly better than what they had expected before starting the chemotherapy. All patients of the acupuncture group experienced the acupuncture treatments as relaxing and beneficial, mentioning a friendly setting, and empathic attitude of the therapist. Most of these patients stated that the acupuncture treatment reduced chemotherapy-induced side effects. The patients reported that acupuncture was supportive for coping with the disease in a salutogenic way. For all patients, finding strategies to cope with life-threatening cancer and the side effects of chemotherapy was essential, for example, keeping a positive attitude toward life, selecting social contacts, and staying active as much as possible. Conclusions: Patients in the acupuncture group reported positive effects on psychological and physical well-being after receiving the study intervention. For all patients, having coping strategies for cancer seemed to be more important than reducing side effects. Therefore, further studies should focus more on coping strategies and reducing acute side effects.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Prophylactic Acupuncture Treatment during Chemotherapy in Patients with Breast Cancer – Results of a Qualitative Study nested in a Randomized Pragmatic Trial

Stöckigt

Kirschbaum²,

Carstensen³

et al. 2021

Integr Cancer Ther

Self Cite

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“…58,65,92 Finally, 62 studies were included in the meta-analyses. [43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][59][60][61][62][63][64][93][94][95][96][97][98][99][100][101][102][103][104][105][106]136 Of those, 29 RCTs were included in meta-analyses for acupuncture versus sham control, 45,46,48,49,52,53,55,57,59,66,68,70,72,75,77-80,82,88-90, 94,96,97,99,102,103,107 25 RCTs were included in meta-analyses for acupuncture versus TAU/waitlist control, 46,47,[49][50][51]54,56,62,64,…”

Section: Literature Searchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Safety of acupuncture in oncology: A systematic review and meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials

Höxtermann

Haller

Aboudamaah

et al. 2022

Cancer

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Background Acupuncture is frequently used to treat the side effects of cancer treatment, but the safety of this intervention remains uncertain. The current meta‐analysis was conducted to assess the safety of acupuncture in oncological patients. Methods The PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Scopus databases were searched from their inception to August 7, 2020. Randomized controlled trials in oncological patients comparing invasive acupuncture with sham acupuncture, treatment as usual (TAU), or any other active control were eligible. Two reviewers independently extracted data on study characteristics and adverse events (AEs). Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool. Results Of 4590 screened articles, 65 were included in the analyses. The authors observed that acupuncture was not associated an with increased risk of intervention‐related AEs, nonserious AEs, serious AEs, or dropout because of AEs compared with sham acupuncture and an active control. Compared with TAU, acupuncture was not associated with an increased risk of intervention‐related AEs, serious AEs, or drop out because of AEs but was associated with an increased risk for nonserious AEs (odds ratio, 3.94; 95% confidence interval, 1.16‐13.35; P = .03). However, the increased risk of nonserious AEs compared with TAU was not robust against selection bias. The meta‐analyses may have been biased because of the insufficient reporting of AEs in the original randomized controlled trials. Conclusions The current review indicates that acupuncture is as safe as sham acupuncture and active controls in oncological patients. The authors recommend researchers heed the CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) safety and harm extension for reporting to capture the side effects and better investigate the risk profile of acupuncture in oncology. Lay Summary According to this analysis, acupuncture is a safe therapy for the treatment of patients with cancer. Acupuncture seems to be safe compared with sham acupuncture and active controls.

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Acupuncture for the prevention of chemotherapy‐induced nausea and vomiting in cancer patients: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

et al. 2023

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Purpose To assess the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for the prevention of chemotherapy‐induced nausea and vomiting (CINV), with a specific intention on exploring sources of between‐study variation in treatment effects. Methods MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane CENTRAL, CINAHL, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, VIP Chinese Science and Technology Periodicals Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Wanfang were searched to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that compared acupuncture to sham acupuncture or usual care (UC). The main outcome is complete control (no vomiting episodes and/or no more than mild nausea) of CINV. GRADE approach was used to rate the certainty of evidence. Results Thirty‐eight RCTs with a total of 2503 patients were evaluated. Acupuncture in addition to UC may increase the complete control of acute vomiting (RR, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.02 to 1.25; 10 studies) and delayed vomiting (RR, 1.47; 95% CI, 1.07 to 2.00; 10 studies) when compared with UC only. No effects were found for all other review outcomes. The certainty of evidence was generally low or very low. None of the predefined moderators changed the overall findings, but in an exploratory moderator analysis we found that an adequate reporting of planned rescue antiemetics might decrease the effect size of complete control of acute vomiting (p = 0.035). Conclusion Acupuncture in addition to usual care may increase the complete control of chemotherapy‐induced acute vomiting and delayed vomiting but the certainty of evidence was very low. Well‐designed RCTs with larger sample sizes, standardized treatment regimens, and core outcome measures are needed.

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Prophylactic acupuncture treatment during chemotherapy with breast cancer: a randomized pragmatic trial with a retrospective nested qualitative study

Cited by 20 publications

References 31 publications

Prophylactic Acupuncture Treatment during Chemotherapy in Patients with Breast Cancer – Results of a Qualitative Study nested in a Randomized Pragmatic Trial

Prophylactic Acupuncture Treatment during Chemotherapy in Patients with Breast Cancer – Results of a Qualitative Study nested in a Randomized Pragmatic Trial

Safety of acupuncture in oncology: A systematic review and meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials

Acupuncture for the prevention of chemotherapy‐induced nausea and vomiting in cancer patients: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

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