Moxibustion as a Therapy for Breast Cancer–Related Lymphedema in Female Adults: A Preliminary Randomized Controlled Trial

Wang, Chunhui; Yang, Ming; Fan, Yonggang; Pei, Xiaohua

doi:10.1177/1534735419866919

Cited by 21 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 25 publications

(40 reference statements)

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“…The number of TCM visits from cancer patients increased from 43.8 to 85.2%, compared with that in the same months last year. Clinical studies have found that TCM participation in cancer treatment can improve the quality of life and reinforce the effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy [ 8 , 9 ]. In addition, TCM treatment can increase the survival time of cancer patients and reduce overall medical costs [ 10 , 11 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The dynamics of patient visits to traditional Chinese medicine during the 2019 coronavirus pandemic

Lin

Chou

et al. 2021

BMC Complement Med Ther

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Background Large-scale epidemics have changed people’s medical behavior, and patients tend to delay non-urgent medical needs. However, the impact of the pandemic on the use of complementary and alternative medicine remains unknown. Methods This retrospective study aimed to analyze the changes in the number of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) patients and examine the epidemic prevention policy during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. We analyzed the number of TCM patients in Taipei City Hospital from January 2017 to May 2020. We tallied the numbers of patients in each month and compared them with those in the same months last year. We calculated the percentage difference in the number of patients to reveal the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on TCM utilization. We used the Mann–Whitney U test to examine whether there was a significant difference in the number of patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results We included a total of 1,935,827 TCM visits of patients from January 2017 to May 2020 in this study. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of patients decreased significantly, except in February 2020. The number of patients during the COVID-19 pandemic had fallen by more than 15% compared with those in the same months last year. March and April had the greatest number of patient losses, with falls of 32.8 and 40% respectively. TCM patients declined significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, and mobile medicine provided to rural areas fell considerably. Among all the TCM specialties, pediatrics and traumatology, as well as infertility treatment, witnessed the most significant decline in the number of patients. However, the number of cancer patients has reportedly increased. Conclusions The COVID-19 pandemic decreased the utilization rate of TCM, especially for mobile healthcare in rural areas. We suggest that the government pay attention to the medical disparity between urban and rural areas, which are affected by the pandemic, as well as allocate adequate resources in areas deprived of medical care.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The dynamics of patient visits to traditional Chinese medicine during the 2019 coronavirus pandemic

Lin

Chou

et al. 2021

BMC Complement Med Ther

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“…6 In recent years, moxibustion has been applied in the treatment of several diseases, such as temporomandibular joint disturbance syndrome, malposition, colitis, dysmenorrhea, herpes zoster, knee osteoarthritis, diarrhea, heel pain, asthma, soft tissue injury, urinary retention, and gastrointestinal disorders. [7][8][9] More importantly, moxibustion has been used to improve the quality of life and alleviate the adverse effects of conventional treatment options for various diseases. 10 The incidence of breast cancer has rapidly increased worldwide, with a total incidence rising nearly 10 times in just 10 years.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

<p>Moxibustion Enhances Chemotherapy of Breast Cancer by Affecting Tumor Microenvironment</p>

Xue¹,

Fu²,

Zhu³

et al. 2020

CMAR

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Introduction: Chemotherapeutic drugs often cause obvious toxicity and side effects. Moxibustion can improve the immunity of cancer patients, enhance cellular immunity, and reduce the toxicity and adverse effects of radiotherapy and chemotherapy. In this study, the efficacy of moxibustion combined with paclitaxel on breast cancer was evaluated. Methods: A breast cancer mouse model was established. Hematoxylin and eosin staining was used to analyze tumor necrosis in mouse tumors. Immunohistochemistry, Western blot, and qPCR were used to detect the expression of CD34, hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α), vascular endothelial growth factor A(VEGFA), programmed death-1 (PD-1), and programmed death-1 ligand (PD-L1) in tumor tissues. Results: Moxibustion combined with paclitaxel significantly inhibited weight loss in breast cancer-burdened mice and increased the survival rate. Moxibustion combined with paclitaxel increased the number of white blood cells, thymus index, and spleen index, and enhanced immune function by upregulating interferon-gamma and interleukin-2 and downregulating interleukin-10 and transforming growth factor-β1. Notably, moxibustion combined with paclitaxel inhibited the angiogenesis of tumors through the downregulation of CD34, HIF-1α, and VEGFA, and overcame the immunosuppressive microenvironment by inhibiting the PD-1/PD-L1 signaling pathway. Conclusion: Moxibustion improves the body's immune function and enhances the efficacy of chemotherapy by overcoming the immunosuppressive microenvironment.

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“…The authors of a conventional moxibustion study also mentioned that subjective symptoms improved although there was no measurable reduction in circumference. 15 As EORTC QLQ-BR23 is the first disease-specific questionnaire and it is the most widely used questionnaire, it may not be appropriate for patients with mild symptoms like our study. In future study, inclusion of additional outcome measures that may effectively reflect such symptoms should be considered.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

“…26 However, to date, only a preliminary study has explored the effects of moxibustion for treating BCRL. 15 …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electronic Moxibustion for Breast Cancer-Related Lymphedema: A Pilot Clinical Trial

et al. 2020

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This is a preliminary study to investigate the feasibility of electronic moxibustion in breast cancer patients with upper limb lymphedema. As current treatment options for lymphedema are unsatisfactory and time consuming, there have been attempts to manage symptoms using integrative treatments. Electronic moxibustion was developed to compensate for the shortcomings of conventional moxibustion and is widely used in clinical practice. However, there have been no studies on using electronic moxibustion in breast cancer-related lymphedema. To investigate the feasibility of electronic moxibustion in treating breast cancer-related lymphedema, this study included subjects who completed primary cancer treatment at least 6 months ago and had more than 10 mm difference in arm circumference of upper limbs. All subjects were assigned to the treatment group. Subjects were treated with 16 sessions (30 minutes/session) of electronic moxibustion for 8 weeks followed by 4 weeks of follow-up. For outcome measures, upper limb circumferences, shoulder range of motion, bioimpedance analysis, and quality of life questionnaire were assessed. All 10 subjects completed the study. The effective index showed 38.21% reduction after treatment ( P = .0098) and 29.35% ( P = .0039) after 4 weeks of follow-up compared to the baseline. The reduction of lymphedema was most prominent at 10 cm above the elbow crease, where the mean reduction of circumference difference was 7.5 mm ( P = .0430) and continued to improve after treatment (mean reduction of 8.3 mm, P = .0156). There was significant improvement in shoulder range of motion only in flexion and internal rotation at week 9. There were 7 adverse events, and most were irrelevant to the treatment. Only 1 participant had a mild burn on the acupuncture point. Here, we demonstrate for the first time that electronic moxibustion treatment is a feasible treatment for breast cancer-related lymphedema. Electronic moxibustion may reduce differences in upper limb circumference and improve shoulder range of motion. A future comparative clinical trial is needed to confirm the clinical efficacy of this treatment.

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Moxibustion as a Therapy for Breast Cancer–Related Lymphedema in Female Adults: A Preliminary Randomized Controlled Trial

Cited by 21 publications

References 25 publications

The dynamics of patient visits to traditional Chinese medicine during the 2019 coronavirus pandemic

The dynamics of patient visits to traditional Chinese medicine during the 2019 coronavirus pandemic

<p>Moxibustion Enhances Chemotherapy of Breast Cancer by Affecting Tumor Microenvironment</p>

Electronic Moxibustion for Breast Cancer-Related Lymphedema: A Pilot Clinical Trial

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