Acupuncture has been used therapeutically in China for thousands of years and is growing in prominence in Europe and the United States. In a recent review of complementary and alternative medicine use in the US population, an estimated 2.1 million people or 1.1% of the population sought acupuncture care during the past 12 months. Four percent of the US population used acupuncture at any time in their lives. We reviewed 31 different published journal articles, including 23 randomized controlled clinical trials and 8 meta-analysis/systematic reviews. We found evidence of some efficacy and low risk associated with acupuncture in pediatrics. From all the conditions we reviewed, the most extensive research has looked into acupuncture's role in managing postoperative and chemotherapy-induced nausea/vomiting. Postoperatively, there is far more evidence of acupuncture's efficacy for pediatrics than for children treated with chemotherapy. Acupuncture seems to be most effective in preventing postoperative induced nausea in children. For adults, research shows that acupuncture can inhibit chemotherapy-related acute vomiting, but conclusions about its effects in pediatrics cannot be made on the basis of the available published clinical trials data to date. Besides nausea and vomiting, research conducted in pain has yielded the most convincing results on acupuncture efficacy. Musculoskeletal and cancer-related pain commonly affects children and adults, but unfortunately, mostly adult studies have been conducted thus far. Because the manifestations of pain can be different in children than in adults, data cannot be extrapolated from adult research. Systematic reviews have shown that existing data often lack adequate control groups and sample sizes. Vas et al, Alimi et al, and Mehling et al demonstrated some relief for adults treated with acupuncture but we could not find any well-conducted randomized controlled studies that looked at pediatrics and acupuncture exclusively. Pain is often unresolved from drug therapy, thus there is a need for more studies in this setting. For seasonal allergic rhinitis, we reviewed studies conducted by Ng et al and Xue et al in children and adults, respectively. Both populations showed some relief of symptoms through acupuncture, but questions remain about treatment logistics. Additionally, there are limited indications that acupuncture may help cure children afflicted with nocturnal enuresis. Systematic reviews show that current published trials have suffered from low trial quality, including small sample sizes. Other areas of pediatric afflictions we reviewed that suffer from lack of research include asthma, other neurologic conditions, gastrointestinal disorders, and addiction. Acupuncture has become a dominant complementary and alternative modality in clinical practice today, but its associated risk has been questioned. The National Institutes of Health Consensus Statement states "one of the advantages of acupuncture is that the incidence of adverse effects is substantially lower than that o...

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use among cancer patients varies according to geographical area, gender, and disease diagnosis. The prevalence of CAM use among cancer patients in the United States has been estimated to be between 7% and 54%. Most cancer patients use CAM with the hope of boosting the immune system, relieving pain, and controlling side effects related to disease or treatment. Only a minority of patients include CAM in the treatment plan with curative intent. This review article focuses on practices belonging to the CAM domains of mind-body medicine, CAM botanicals, manipulative practices, and energy medicine, because they are widely used as complementary approaches to palliative cancer care and cancer symptom management. In the area of cancer symptom management, auricular acupuncture, therapeutic touch, and hypnosis may help to manage cancer pain. Music therapy, massage, and hypnosis may have an effect on anxiety, and both acupuncture and massage may have a therapeutic role in cancer fatigue. Acupuncture and selected botanicals may reduce chemotherapy-induced nausea and emesis, and hypnosis and guided imagery may be beneficial in anticipatory nausea and vomiting. Transcendental meditation and the mindfulness-based stress reduction can play a role in the management of depressed mood and anxiety. Black cohosh and phytoestrogen-rich foods may reduce vasomotor symptoms in postmenopausal women. Most CAM approaches to the treatment of cancer are safe when used by a CAM practitioner experienced in the treatment of cancer patients. The potential for many commonly used botanical to interact with prescription drugs continues to be a concern. Botanicals should be used with caution by cancer patients and only under the guidance of an oncologist knowledgeable in their use.

Background-The long-term psychological impact of pediatric sarcoma is largely unknown. As part of a cross-sectional study examining the late effects of pediatric sarcoma therapy, we examined whether psychological distress or posttraumatic stress symptoms are present in an adult cohort of pediatric sarcoma survivors.

After a median follow up of 17 years, adult SARC survivors of MMT had an increased prevalence of MST, especially those less than 40 years old. The development of MST in this population was associated with decreased testosterone and activity levels.

Sarcoma survivors demonstrate diminished locoregional and global musculoskeletal functioning which likely limit occupational opportunities and socioeconomic health. In addition, the combination of diminished cardiac reserve, limited activity levels, and lipid dysregulation in sarcoma survivors suggests that this population is at increased risk for cardiovascular disease, even many years following completion of sarcoma therapy. Sarcoma survivors may benefit from life long follow-up for cardiovascular disease and from occupational counseling upon completion of therapy.

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Tai chi chuan (TCC) has been used as a mind-body practice in Asian culture for centuries to improve wellness and reduce stress and has recently received attention by researchers as an exercise intervention. A review of the English literature on research in TCC published from 1989 to 2006 identified 20 prospective, randomized, controlled clinical trials in a number of populations, including elderly participants (7 studies), patients with cardiovascular complications (3 studies), patients with chronic disease (6 studies), and patients who might gain psychological benefit from TCC practice (2 studies). However, only the studies of TCC in the elderly and 2 studies of TCC for cardiovascular disease had adequate designs and size to allow conclusions about the efficacy of TCC. Most (11 studies) were small and provided limited information on the benefit of TCC in the settings tested. There is growing awareness that cancer survivors represent a population with multiple needs related to physical deconditioning, cardiovascular disease risk, and psychological stress. TCC as an intervention may provide benefit to cancer survivors in these multiple areas of need based on its characteristics of combining aspects of meditation and aerobic exercise. However, little research has been conducted to date to determine the benefit of TCC in this population. We propose a model to study the unique characteristics of TCC compared to physical exercise that may highlight characteristic features of this mind-body intervention in cancer survivors.

A long-acting somatostatin analog was able to lower IGF-1 levels of OS patients. IGF-BP-3 and GH were only transiently reduced. Although ONC was well tolerated, no sustained clinical responses were observed. The pathophysiology of serum versus tissue concentrations of IGF-1 as well as the interplay of IGFs, IGF-binding proteins, and other growth factors and cytokines in osteosarcoma warrants further investigation. A better understanding of these processes should lead to a more effective exploitation of these pathways for the targeted therapy of OS.