Acupuncture as a Complementary Treatment for Cancer Patients Receiving Chemotherapy

Abstract

Background: Medical treatment for eliminating the side effects of cancer therapy may not always be efficacious. Acupuncture is one of the most widely accepted alternative and complementary therapies in use today. In this study, we investigated the efficacy of acupuncture in patients experiencing cancer treatment side effects, including nausea, vomiting, pain, poor sleep quality and anxiety. Materials and Methods: A total of 45 inpatients who underwent chemotherapy between February and April 2013 in the Oncology Department of Numune Hospital were included in our study. Acupuncture was administered to the patients one day prior to chemotherapy, on the day of chemotherapy and one day after chemotherapy. The patients were evaluated on nausea, vomiting, pain, sleep quality and anxiety before the chemotherapy and on the 4 th day of chemotherapy. Results: Of the 45 patients included in the study, 18 (40%) were female and 27 (60%) were male. A total of 25 (55.6%) had an elementary school education; 32 patients (71%) had stage 4 cancer and were treated with palliative chemotherapy (the patient characteristics are shown in Table 1). Statistically significant decreases (p<0.001) in pain, nausea, vomiting, insomnia and anxiety scores were observed after the acupuncture treatment compared to baseline. There were no differences in the age, gender, education level, stage or metastasis levels between the patient groups whose symptoms improved or were unchanged. Conclusions: Our study showed that acupuncture has positive effects in cancer treatment patients who experience nausea, vomiting, pain, poor sleep quality and anxiety as side effects of chemotherapy. Chemotherapy-related side effects in cancer patients could be decreased by the concurrent use of acupuncture.

Evaluation of How Integrative Oncology Services Are Valued between Hematology/Oncology Patients and Hematologists/Oncologists at a Tertiary Care Center

“…Acupuncture is also helpful in the treatment and prevention of chemotherapy-induced and postoperative nausea and vomiting [ 11 , 49 , 56 , 57 ]. Additionally, acupuncture may also address sleep disturbance, anxiety, drowsiness, and fatigue [ 56 – 59 ] but more research is needed to strengthen the validity of managing other cancer related symptoms [ 60 – 62 ]. Interestingly, acupuncture research has had a twofold higher growth rate compared to biomedical research in the last two decades [ 63 ].…”

Acupuncture in Pediatric Diseases

“…In a study performed to reduce the adverse events of chemotherapy in adult patients with cancer, a significant improvement was observed in nausea and vomiting [35]. In a study in which real or sham acupressure was performed in 10 pediatric cancer patients receiving standard therapy alone, a decrease was observed in nausea and vomiting; however, no difference was determined between the real and sham acupressure methods in terms of efficacy [36].…”

Effect of Acupuncture or Massage on Health-Related Quality of Life of Hemodialysis Patients

“…Acupuncture and massage are complementary nonpharmacological interventions that have been used to manage symptoms of chronic illness and reduce their severity. [14][15][16][17] Acupuncture is a popular complementary therapy used to treat various health conditions, chronic pain, and cancer care. It involves using acupuncture needling on body points to improve blood circulation, increase secretion of neurotransmitters, and maintain homeostasis.…”