Randomized controlled trial of acupuncture for prevention of radiation‐induced xerostomia among patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Meng, Zhiqiang; Garcia, M. Kay; Hu, Chaosu; Chiang, Joseph S.; Chambers, Mark S.; Rosenthal, David I.; Peng, Huiting; Zhang, Ying; Zhao, Qi; Zhao, Genming; Liu, Luming; Spelman, Amy; Palmer, J. Lynn; Wei, Qi; Cohen, Lorenzo

doi:10.1002/cncr.26550

Cited by 95 publications

(133 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…The findings suggest that acupuncture might have had a holistic regulatory effect on the patients, which corresponds with the primary focus of TCM practices. The positive effect of acupuncture on QoL has also been demonstrated in several RCTs for other diseases [25,26,27,28,29]. …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Which Subtype of Functional Dyspepsia Patients Responses Better to Acupuncture? A Retrospective Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial

Ma¹,

Zeng²,

Li³

et al. 2015

Complement Med Res

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Background: Whether subgroups of functional dyspepsia (FD) should be treated with different approaches is controversially discussed in research. As our previous study has demonstrated the effect of acupuncture in FD treatment, we now further analyze the therapeutic effect of acupuncture in the treatment of postprandial distress syndrome (PDS) and epigastric pain syndrome (EPS). Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted in 465 eligible PDS patients and 241 EPS patients. 4 acupuncture groups (group A: specific acupoints along the stomach meridian; group B: non-specific acupoints along the stomach meridian; group C: alarm and transport acupoints; group D: specific acupoints along the gallbladder meridian) were compared with a non-acupoint sham acupuncture group and an itopride group. The patients were treated in 5 consecutive sessions per week for 4 weeks and were followed-up for 12 weeks afterwards. Primary outcome of the study was defined as response rate and symptom improvement as measured by the Symptom Index of Dyspepsia, while secondary outcome was designated as improvement in quality of life (QoL) as determined by the Nepean Dyspepsia Index. Results: Symptoms of dyspepsia and QoL were improved from baseline in all groups. In EPS patients, no statistically significant differences could be observed in response rate (p = 0.239) and symptoms improvement (p = 0.344 for epigastric pain; p = 0.465 for epigastric burning). In contrast, PDS patients of the acupuncture group A showed higher response rate (53.2% vs. 19.7%, p<0.001; 53.2% vs. 35.1%, p = 0.025) and score change in postprandial fullness (1.01 vs. 0.27, p<0.001; 1.01 vs. 0.57, p<0.001), early satiation (0.81 vs. 0.21, p<0.001; 0.81 vs. 0.39, p=0.001), and QoL (14.5 vs. 4.33, p<0.001; 14.5 vs. 8.5, p<0.001) compared to the sham acupuncture and itopride group. Conclusions: FD patients with PDS responded better to the acupuncture therapies, especially at the specific acupoints along the stomach meridian. The positive therapeutic effect of acupuncture on PDS was correlated with the improvement in postprandial fullness. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrial.gov NCT00599677.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Which Subtype of Functional Dyspepsia Patients Responses Better to Acupuncture? A Retrospective Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial

Ma¹,

Zeng²,

Li³

et al. 2015

Complement Med Res

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“…The total number of patients was 110, with 54 patients in the acupuncture group and 56 patients in the control group. Only 1 RCT investigating the preventive effect of acupuncture was found, 34 in which acupuncture was conducted before and during radiotherapy. This study included 40 patients in the acupuncture group and 46 patients in the control group.…”

Section: Description Of the Included Studies And Data Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Squamous cell carcinoma accounted for 57% of the acupuncture group patients and 70% of control group patients. The study by Meng et al 34 recruited patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma only. The other 2 studies reported the subtypes of HNCs with the tumor sites.…”

Section: Description Of the Included Studies And Data Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

The Preventive and Therapeutic Effect of Acupuncture for Radiation-Induced Xerostomia in Patients With Head and Neck Cancer

et al. 2012

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Background. Methods currently available to prevent and manage xerostomia which caused by radiotherapy in patients with head and neck caner have limited efficacy. Some studies suggest that acupuncture may be beneficial. Objectives. The authors evaluated the preventive and therapeutic effect of acupuncture for radiation-induced xerostomia among patients with head and neck cancer. Methods. PUBMED, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, CBM, CAJD, Wan Fang database, and VIP Database for Chinese Technical Periodicals were electronically searched, in conjunction with further manual search for relevant articles. Studies that met the inclusion criteria were systematically evaluated. Results. Three randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating the therapeutic effect of acupuncture were included. One RCT on the preventive effect of acupuncture was found. Because of the considerable variation among included studies, meta-analysis was not possible. Two included RCTs used placebo controls, and both observed significant improvement in the salivary flow rates between acupuncture and control groups. However, no significant differences were found. Three included RCTs suggested that acupuncture for radiation-induced xerostomia can improve patients' subjective symptoms. The only study evaluating the preventive effect of acupuncture for radiation-induced xerostomia showed positive changes in salivary flow rates (both unstimulated and stimulated) and dry mouth -related symptoms. Acupuncture treatment was well tolerated by all patients and no severe adverse effects were seen. Conclusions. Insufficient evidence is available to judge whether acupuncture is safe and whether it is effective in preventing or treating radiation-induced xerostomia. Significant research remains to be done before acupuncture can be recommended for routine use in radiation-induced xerostomia.

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“…Although acupuncture’s mechanism of action is still not fully understood, emerging evidence suggests that it may be effective in reducing several cancer-related symptoms commonly seen in patients undergoing RT (i.e. fatigue [13], pain [14], nausea [15], and xerostomia [16]).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patients’ perspectives on integrating acupuncture into the radiation oncology setting

Frankel

Garland

Meghani

et al. 2014

European Journal of Integrative Medicine

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Introduction Acupuncture has potential as a supportive care service for cancer symptom management. However, little is known about patients’ willingness to use acupuncture in the context of conventional cancer care. Methodology We conducted a cross-sectional survey study among patients with cancer during their last week of fractionated/external beam radiotherapy (RT). The main outcome variable was self-reported likelihood of using acupuncture during RT. Knowledge about acupuncture and pain severity was measured along with socio-demographic and clinical variables. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to identify factors associated with willingness to use acupuncture. Results Among the 305 participants, 79 (26.4%) were likely to use acupuncture during RT if such services were offered at a reasonable price, 143 (46.9%) had no knowledge of acupuncture, and 206 (67.6%) reported having pain. In multivariate analyses, non-Whites (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 1.94, 95% Confidence Interval [CI] 1.06–3.56), and those with pain (AOR 2.52, CI 1.25–5.10) were more interested in using acupuncture. In addition, patients with preexisting knowledge about acupuncture were also more likely to use acupuncture than those without this knowledge (AOR 2.23, CI 1.28–3.88). Conclusions Patients of non-White race, those with pain or those with prior knowledge about acupuncture were more willing to utilize acupuncture during RT. Since half of the patients had no knowledge about acupuncture, interventions to improve patients’ knowledge are needed to facilitate the successful integration of acupuncture into cancer care.

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Randomized controlled trial of acupuncture for prevention of radiation‐induced xerostomia among patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Cited by 95 publications

References 47 publications

Which Subtype of Functional Dyspepsia Patients Responses Better to Acupuncture? A Retrospective Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial

Which Subtype of Functional Dyspepsia Patients Responses Better to Acupuncture? A Retrospective Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial

The Preventive and Therapeutic Effect of Acupuncture for Radiation-Induced Xerostomia in Patients With Head and Neck Cancer

Patients’ perspectives on integrating acupuncture into the radiation oncology setting

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