Table 5. Clinical Studies of Acupuncture: For Other Cancer-related Symptoms or Cancer Treatment–related Side Effectsa
| Reference Citation(s) | Type of Study | Condition Treated | No. of Patients: Enrolled; Treated; Controlb | Strongest Benefit Reportedc | Concurrent Therapy (Yes/No/ Unknown)d | Level of Evidence Scoree |
| [1] | RCT | Symptoms of weight loss, cough, thoracodynia, hemoptysis, fever, and side effects of chemotherapy and radiation therapy | 76; 38 acupuncture; 38 no acupuncture | Weight gain, symptom relief, fewer side effectsf | No | 1iiC |
| [54] | RCT | Cancer-related fatigue | 47; 31; 16 | Improved fatigue levels | No | 1iiC |
| [44] | Nonconsecutive case series, surveyed retrospectively | Unspecified symptoms (including pain, xerostomia, hot flashes, nausea/loss of appetite) from cancer or cancer treatment | 79; 79 traditional Chinese acupuncture, auricular acupuncture, percutaneous nerve stimulation, Korean hand acupuncture, or Japanese scalp acupuncture; none | 60% showed at least 30% improvement | Yes (standard medical therapies) | 3iiiC |
| [56] | Nonconsecutive case series | Radiation proctitis in women treated for cervical cancer | 44; 44 acupuncture; none | 73% radiation proctitis cured: no blood or mucus for 15 days | No | 3iiiC |
| [59] | Nonconsecutive case series | Postoperative lower extremity lymphedema in women treated for gynecologic tumors | 24; 24 acupuncture and moxibustion; none | Edema prevented or markedly reduced | Unknown | 3iiiC |
| [61] | Nonconsecutive case series | Symptoms related to lymphedema (including pain, discomfort, anxiety and insomnia) | 35; 30 acupuncture and moxibustion; none | Symptoms improved | Unknown | 3iiiC |
| [9] | Nonconsecutive case series | Xerostomia after radiation therapy in patients with cancer | 13; 13 acupuncture; none | Symptoms improved | Yes (not specified) | 3iiiC |
| [62] | Nonconsecutive case series | Xerostomia | 14; 8 acupuncture; none | Symptoms improved | No | 3iiiC |
| [57] | Case report | Dysphonia after radiation therapy | 1; 1 acupuncture; none | Voice recovered | Unknown | Not applicable |
| [58] | Case report | Esophageal obstruction in patients with esophageal cancer | 2; 2 acupuncture; none | Obstruction relieved and normal bowel movements restored | Yes (not specified) | Not applicable |
| [60] | Retrospective case series | Hiccups | 16; 16 acupuncture; none | Symptom relief | Unknown | 3iiiC |
| No. = number; RCT = randomized controlled trial. | ||||||
| aSee text and the NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms for additional information and definition of terms. | ||||||
| bNumber of patients treated plus number of patient controls may not equal number of patients enrolled; number of patients enrolled equals number of patients initially considered by the researcher who conducted a study; number of patients treated equals number of enrolled patients who were given the treatment being studied AND for whom results were reported. | ||||||
| cStrongest evidence reported that the treatment under study has anticancer activity or otherwise improves the well-being of cancer patients. | ||||||
| dConcurrent therapy for symptoms treated (not cancer). | ||||||
| eFor information about levels of evidence analysis and an explanation of the level of evidence scores, see Levels of Evidence for Human Studies of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine. | ||||||
| f P < .001, versus baseline. |
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