The Effect of Acupuncture in Breast Cancer–Related Lymphoedema (BCRL): A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Background: Breast cancer–related lymphedema (BCRL) is hard to control. Management may include lymphatic drainage, skin care, bandaging, or even surgery. Since acupuncture has been proven to affect the neurophysiology and neuroendocrine systems, it has the potential to control BCRL. Aim: To evaluate the effect of acupuncture in BCRL in randomized controlled trials. Design: A literature search was performed, following the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) statement and without language restrictions. Data Sources: Five databases were searched from inception tthrough September 2018. Only studies that fulfilled the eligibility criteria of evaluating the effect of acupuncture on lymphedema in breast cancer were included. The methodological quality of these trials was assessed using the Cochrane criteria, and meta-analysis software (RevMan 5.3) was used for analysis. Results: We examined 178 breast cancer patients from 6 trials. All included randomized controlled trials had medium to high quality, based on the modified Jadad scale. The systematic review showed that acupuncture is safe and has a trend to improve symptoms, but trials did not consistently measure outcomes. The meta-analysis showed that acupuncture produced no significant improvement in the extent of lymphedema as compared with the control intervention (−1.90; 95% confidence interval = −5.39 to 1.59, P = .29). None of the studies reported severe adverse events. Conclusions: Acupuncture is safe and has a trend to improve the lymphedema related to breast cancer, yet it did not significantly change arm circumference in BCRL. Future studies should include both subjective and objective measurements and large-scale studies are warranted.

Do different doses of acupuncture matter on autonomic nervous activity and symptom management in dysmenorrhea? A randomized controlled trial.

“…However, few studies have evaluated the e cacy of different doses of acupuncture or the use of more acupoints. Acupuncture has been widely applied to diverse conditions: pain, arthritis, neuropathy, insomnia, and even some cancer-related side effects (25,26). However, scholars and clinical physicians…”

The Effectiveness of Acupuncture and Moxibustion for Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Protocol of an Overview of Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis

“…It has been speci cally advantageous due to the low risk of adverse events compared to common conventional treatments. It is believed that acupuncture is widely used in RA patients to relieves symptoms such as joint pain, in ammatory biomarkers joint swelling,stiffness joints, morning stiffness time, the index of dysfunction [15] . The mechanism by which acupuncture leads to physiological or clinical changes is still unclear, but traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) believe that acupuncture works through stimulating the meridians and motivating energy to regulate the zang-fu organs [16] .…”

The effect of acupuncture on the quality of life of patients recovering from COVID-19

“…[ 10 , 12 , 13 ] In critical cases mortality could be as higher as 50% in adults. [ 10 , 12 ] Acupuncture is an effective, [ 14 – 16 ] inexpensive, [ 17 ] and safe treatment, with no side effects or infections have been reported [ 18 ] ; it has been widely used in China for thousands of years and has been accepted worldwide. Acupuncture has a long history of use in China, Japan, and Korea.…”