Effectiveness of Traditional Chinese Acupuncture versus Sham Acupuncture: a Systematic Review

Lopes-Júnior, Luí­s Carlos; Cruz, Lóris Aparecida Prado da; Leopoldo, Vanessa Cristina; Campos, Fabrício Ribeiro de; Almeida, Ana Maria de; Silveira, Renata Cristina de Campos Pereira

doi:10.1590/1518-8345.0647.2762

Cited by 28 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…A literature review reported that acupuncture enhances immune function through NK cell activity [113], based on stimulation of the acupoints, also known as "immuno-enhancing acupoint," thus enhancing nitric oxide production which promotes secretion of β-endorphin [113,114]. This peptide further reaches different locations of the body, and binds to opioid receptors expressed on surface of NK cells, which stimulates NK cells to release interferon-gamma (IFNγ), further inducing expression of NK cell receptors and secretion of cytokines from other immune cells, promoting anticarcinogenic immune functions [113][114][115][116]. Additionally, acupuncture may help breast cancer patients with menopausal symptoms via altering the autonomic nervous system [117].…”

Section: Acupuncturementioning

confidence: 99%

Stress reduction strategies in breast cancer: review of pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic based strategies

et al. 2020

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Breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in women. It is associated with multiple symptoms in both patients and caregivers, such as stress, anxiety, depression, sleep disturbance, and fatigue. Stress appears to promote cancer progression via activation of the sympathetic nervous system releasing epinephrine and norepinephrine as well as activation of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis releasing cortisol. These stress hormones have been shown to promote the proliferation of cancer cells. This review focuses on stress-reducing strategies which may decrease cancer progression by abrogating these pathways, with a main focus on the β-adrenergic signaling pathway. Patients utilize both non-pharmacologic and pharmacologic strategies to reduce stress. Non-pharmacologic stress-reduction strategies include complementary and alternative medicine techniques, such as meditation, yoga, acupuncture, exercise, use of natural products, support groups and psychology counseling, herbal compounds, and multivitamins. Pharmacologic strategies include abrogating the β2-adrenergic receptor signaling pathway to antagonize epinephrine and norepinephrine action on tumor and immune cells. β-Blocker drugs may play a role in weakening the pro-migratory and pro-metastatic effects induced by stress hormones in cancer and strengthening the anti-tumor immune response. Preclinical models have shown that non-selective β1/2-blocker use is associated with a decrease in tumor growth and metastases and clinical studies have suggested their positive impact on decreasing breast cancer recurrence and mortality. Thus, non-pharmacological approaches, along with pharmacological therapies part of clinical trials are available to cancer patients to reduce stress, and have promise to break the cycle of cancer and stress.

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Section: Acupuncturementioning

confidence: 99%

Stress reduction strategies in breast cancer: review of pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic based strategies

et al. 2020

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“…Moreover Acupuncture is one of the most popular forms of complementary medicine (29,55) and its use is mainly linked to improving the psychological symptoms through sympathomimetic pathways (56) . Traditional…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Figure 1 shows the final search strategy processed in the respective databases. (TS || =("Adult" AND "Cancer Patients" OR "Advanced Cancer Patients" AND "Neoplasms" OR "Cancer" AND "Palliative Care" OR "Palliative Medicine" OR "Hospices") AND TS=("Complementary Therapies" OR "Therapies, Complementary" OR "Complementary Medicine" OR "Alternative Medicine" OR "Alternative Therapies" OR "Non-pharmacological Interventions") AND TS=("Cancer Pain" OR "Cancer-Associated Pain" "OR "Cancer-Related Pain" OR "Neoplasm Related Pain" OR "Tumor Associated Pain" OR "Oncological Pain" OR "Oncology Pain") AND TS=("Randomized Controlled Trial" OR "Controlled Clinical Trial" OR "Clinical Trial" OR "Random Allocation" OR "Double-blind Method" OR "Single-blind Method")) Data were extracted based on pre-established tools (29)(30)(31) and included four domains: I) Identification of the study, with data such as the title of the article, impact factor of the journal, country of the authors of the study, year of publication, host institution of the study (hospital;…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Efficacy of the complementary therapies in the management of cancer pain in palliative care: A systematic review

Lopes-Júnior

Rosa

Pessanha

et al. 2020

Rev. Latino-Am. Enfermagem

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Objective: to synthesize the knowledge and to critically evaluate the evidences arising from randomized controlled trials on the efficacy of the complementary therapies in the management of cancer pain in adult patients with cancer in palliative care. Method: a systematic review guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. The search for articles in the MEDLINE, ISI Web of Knowledge, CENTRAL Cochrane, and PsycINFO databases, as well as the manual search, selection of studies, data extraction, and methodological assessment using the Cochrane Bias Risk tool were performed independently by two reviewers. Results: eight hundred and fifteen (815) studies were identified, six of them being selected and analyzed, of which three used massage therapy, one study used a combination of progressive muscle relaxation and guided imaging, and another two studies used acupuncture. Most of the studies had an uncertain risk of bias (n=4; 67%). Conclusion: while the evidence from the studies evaluating the use of massage therapy or the use of progressive muscle relaxation and guided imaging for the management of cancer pain in these patients demonstrated significant benefits, the other two studies that evaluated the use of acupuncture as a complementary therapy showed contradictory results, therefore, needing more research studies to elucidate such findings.

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“…To measure intercoder agreement during each screening phase, Cohen's kappa will be performed. Once consensus is reached on the selected studies, a standardised form based on previous studies [29][30][31][32][33][34] will be used for data extraction. The information to be extracted includes four domains: (1) identification of the study (article title, journal title, impact factor, authors, country of the study, language, sources of funding, publication year, host institution of the study (hospital, university, research centre, single institution and multicentre study), conflicts of interest and study sponsorship); (2) methodological characteristics (study design, study objective or research question or hypothesis, sample characteristics, eg, sample size, age, eligibility criteria, ethnicity and baseline characteristics, groups and controls, recruitment methods and study completion rates, comparator group, timeframe for follow-up, cointerventions, validated measures, costs and/or remuneration related to participation, statistical analyses and adjustments); (3) main findings and implications for clinical practice; and (4) conclusions.…”

Section: Data Extractionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effectiveness of mass testing for control of COVID-19: a systematic review protocol

et al. 2020

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IntroductionSince March 2020, when the COVID-19 outbreak has been deemed a pandemic by the WHO, the SARS-CoV-2 spreading has been the focus of attention of scientists, authorities, public health agencies and communities around the world. One of the great concerns and challenges, mainly in low-income and middle-income countries, is the identification and monitoring of COVID-19 cases. The large-scale availability of testing is a fundamental aspect of COVID-19 control, but it is currently the biggest challenge faced by many countries around the world. We aimed to synthesise and critically evaluate the scientific evidence on the influence of the testing capacity for symptomatic individuals in the control of COVID-19.Methods and analysisA systematic review will be conducted in eight databases, such as Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online, ISI-of-Knowledge, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Embase, SCOPUS, Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature, PsycINFO and Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, from inception to 30 July 2020. No restriction regarding the language, publication date or setting will be employed. Primary outcomes will include the sensitivity as well as the specificity of the tests for COVID-19. Study selection will follow the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses checklist. Methodological assessment of the studies will be evaluated by the Cochrane Risk-of-Bias tool for randomised controlled trials, the MINORS for non-randomised studies and the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale for cohort or case–control studies. Findings will be structured according to the test type and target population characteristics and focused on the primary outcomes (sensitivity and specificity). Moreover, if sufficient data are available, a meta-analysis will be performed. Pooled standardised mean differences and 95% CIs will be calculated. Heterogeneity between the studies will be determined by I2 statistics. Subgroup analyses will also be conducted. Publication bias will be assessed with funnel plots and Egger’s test. Heterogeneity will be explored by random effects analysis.Ethics and disseminationEthical approval is not required. The results will be disseminated widely via peer-reviewed publication and presentations at conferences related to this field.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42020182724.

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Effectiveness of Traditional Chinese Acupuncture versus Sham Acupuncture: a Systematic Review

Cited by 28 publications

References 41 publications

Stress reduction strategies in breast cancer: review of pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic based strategies

Stress reduction strategies in breast cancer: review of pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic based strategies

Efficacy of the complementary therapies in the management of cancer pain in palliative care: A systematic review

Effectiveness of mass testing for control of COVID-19: a systematic review protocol

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