Study Shows That Acupuncture And Acupressure Can Help Cancer Patients Deal With Pain
Source: Thailand Medical News Dec 25, 2019 4 months ago
According to a review published in JAMA Oncology Journal, the use of acupuncture and/or acupressure is associated with reduced cancer pain and decreased use of analgesics
Dr Yihan He, Ph.D., from the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine in China, and colleagues conducted a systematic literature review to identify randomized clinical trials (RCTs) that compared acupuncture and acupressure with a sham control, analgesic therapy, or usual care for managing cancer pain.
The medical researchers identified 17 RCTs (1,111 patients) and used data from 14 RCTs (920 patients) in the meta-analysis. Seven high-quality sham-controlled RCTs (35 percent) showed that real, compared with sham, acupuncture was associated with reduced pain intensity. Among six RCTs, there was a positive association noted between the combination of acupuncture and acupressure with analgesic therapy for reducing pain intensity. Two RCTs showed that the combination reduced opioid dose. Due to significant heterogeneity among the studies, the evidence was graded as moderate.
Dr Yihan He told Thailand Medical News via a telephone interview, "This study findings suggests that more rigorous trials are needed to identify the association of acupuncture and acupressure with specific types of cancer pain and to integrate such evidence into clinical care to reduce opioid use."
The researchers have already commenced a more detailed study to correlate the effects of acupuncture from a medical perspective on pain management in cancer patients.
Reference: Clinical Evidence for Association of Acupuncture and Acupressure With Improved Cancer Pain ,A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis, Yihan He, PhD; Xinfeng Guo, PhD; Brian H. May, PhD; et alAnthony Lin Zhang, PhD; Yihong Liu, MM; Chuanjian Lu, MD; Jun J. Mao, MD; Charlie Changli Xue, PhD; Haibo Zhang, MD
JAMA Oncol. Published online December 19, 2019. doi:https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaoncol.2019.5233