Alimi et al., 20032323 Alimi D, Rubino C, Pichard-Léandri E, Fermand-Brulé S, Dubreuil-Lemaire ML, Hill C. Analgesic effect of auricular acupuncture for cancer pain: a randomized, blinded, controlled trial. J Clin Oncol. 2003;21(22):4120-6. DOI DOI...
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Three different arms Arm 1 (Intervention - Auricular acupuncture - points selected individually for each patient, n = 28). |
Arm 2 (Control group 1 - Ear acupuncture at placebo points - ineffective acupuncture, n = 23); Arm 3 (Control group 2 - Seeds fixed in placebo points, n = 28). |
Pain intensity decreased by 36% after two months compared to baseline in the intervention group, and there was a slight change for patients receiving placebo (2%). Difference: p < 0.0001. Pain scores on D30 were also lower in the intervention group (Mean ± SD, 44 ± 19) than in the Control 1 (Mean ± SD, 54 ± 25) or Control 2 (Mean ± SD, 56 ± 19) groups. |
Zhou et al., 20072222 Zhou Y, Zhong Y, Huang Q. Acupuncture plus three-step analgesic ladder principle for cancer pain relief: clinical observation on 24 cases. J Acupunct Tuina Sci. 2007;5(3):162-5. Full text link Full text link...
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Acupuncture (daily sessions) combined with three-step analgesic ladder approach (n = 24). Application in points corresponding to the location of pain. |
Three-step analgesic stair approach (n = 12) |
The total effective rate and marked effect rate of the intervention group were 87.5% and 54.2%, respectively, while those of the control group were 66.7% and 25%, respectively, indicating a statistical difference (p < 0, 05) in terms of therapeutic efficacy. |
Chen et al., 20132121 Chen H, Liu TY, Kuai L, Zhu J, Wu CJ, Liu LM. Electroacupuncture treatment for pancreatic cancer pain: a randomized controlled trial. Pancreatology. 2013;13(6):594-7. DOI DOI...
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Intervention Group Electroacupuncture (n = 30) |
Placebo group (Sham) (n = 30) |
In the intervention group, pain intensity decreased after 3 sessions compared to baseline (1.67; CI95%, 1.46 - 1.87). The Sham group presented minor pain reduction between the three sessions (0.13; CI95%, 0.08 - 0.35). Differences between the two groups: p < 0.001. |
Lam et al., 20171919 Lam TY, Lu LM, Ling WM, Lin LZ. A pilot randomized controlled trial of acupuncture at the Si Guan Xue for cancer pain. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2017;17(1):335. DOI DOI...
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Three different arms with seven treatment sessions: Arm 1 (Si Guan Xue, n = 12) |
Arm 2 (Si Guan Xue combined with the most commonly used acupuncture points, n = 9); Control Arm (most commonly used acupuncture points, n = 9). |
Pain reduction was more prominent on day 5 in Arm 2 than in the Control Arm (p < 0.05). There were no differences in pain score among the three groups (p > 0.05). No serious adverse events were observed. |
Zhou et al., 20171818 Zhou J, Fang L, Wu WY, He F, Zhang XL, Zhou X, et al. The effect of acupuncture on chemotherapy-associated gastrointestinal symptoms in gastric cancer. Curr Oncol. 2017;24(1):e1-5. DOI DOI...
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Standard chemotherapy (Oxaliplatin-Paclitaxel) + acupuncture (n = 28) |
Standard chemotherapy (Oxaliplatin-Paclitaxel) (n = 28) |
Pain persisted for 7 (± 2) minutes in the intervention group and for 16 (± 5) minutes in the control group. Compared with the control group, the experimental group showed decreased pain frequency or duration (p < 0.05). |
Kim et al., 20181717 Kim K, Lee S. Intradermal acupuncture along with analgesics for pain control in advanced cancer cases: a pilot, randomized, patient-assessor-blinded, controlled trial. Integr Cancer Ther. 2018;17(4):1137-43. DOI DOI...
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Intradermal acupuncture (n = 14) |
Sham acupuncture (n = 13) |
In the intervention group, 64.3% of patients (9/14) reported reduced analgesic use compared to 38.5% (5/13) in the Sham group (p = 0.180). Self-reported pain level decreased after treatment (-1.54 ± 1.45 and -1.15 ± 1.57), at the first follow-up consultation (-1.57 ± 2.06 and -1.54 ± 1.20) and at the end of the follow-up period (-1.00 ± 2.22 and - 1.08 ± 1.38) in the intervention and control groups, respectively (p < 0.001). |
Ruela et al., 20182020 Ruela LO, Iunes DH, Nogueira DA, Stefanello J, Gradim CVC. Effectiveness of auricular acupuncture in the treatment of cancer pain: randomized clinical trial. Rev Esc Enferm USP. 2018;52:e03402. DOI DOI...
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Ear acupuncture (in energy balance points and in points indicated for pain treatment) (n = 11) |
Placebo group: Auricular acupuncture (placebo fixed points) (n = 12) |
There were differences between groups regarding the reduction of pain intensity (p < 0.001) and of analgesic use (p < 0.05). There were significant differences in daily analgesic doses (p = 0.010) and in the amount of analgesics used (p = 0.019). |
Xu et al., 20181616 Xu L, Wan Y, Huang J, Xu F. Clinical analysis of electroacupuncture and multiple acupoint stimulation in relieving cancer pain in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. J Cancer Res Ther. 2018;14(1):99-102. DOI DOI...
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Electroacupuncture (stimulation of multiple acupuncture points) (n = 32) |
Fentanyl transdermal patch. (n = 33) |
The pain score of the intervention group significantly decreased on day 3 (p < 0.05), but the pain scores were not different (p > 0.05) four days after treatment. The incidence of adverse reactions in the two groups was 9.4% and 12.1%, respectively (p > 0.05). |