Acupuncture for cancer-related fatigue in lung cancer patients: a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled pilot trial

Cheng, C.-S.

Chen, L.-Y.

Ning, Z.-Y.

Zhang, C.-Y.

Chen, H.

Chen, Z.

Zhu, X.-Y.

Xie, J.

Supportive Care in Cancer : Official Journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer

2017

25(12)

3807-3814

RCT

Cancer-Related Fatigue

Lung Cancer

Acupuncture

Placebo

Randomized Controlled Trials (85)

Fixed Acupuncture Protocol

BACKGROUND: Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is a distressing symptom that is the most common unpleasant side effect experienced by lung cancer patients and is challenging for clinical care workers to manage. METHODS: We performed a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot trial to evaluate the clinical effect of acupuncture on CRF in lung cancer patients. Twenty-eight patients presenting with CRF were randomly assigned to active acupuncture or placebo acupuncture groups to receive acupoint stimulation (LI-4, Ren-6, St-36, KI-3, and Sp-6) twice per week for 4 weeks, followed by 2 weeks of follow-up. The primary outcome was the change in intensity of CFR based on the Chinese version of the Brief Fatigue Inventory (BFI-C). As the secondary endpoint, the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Lung Cancer Subscale (FACT-LCS) was adopted to assess the influence of acupuncture on patients' quality of life (QOL). Adverse events and safety of treatments were monitored throughout the trial. RESULTS: Our pilot study demonstrated feasibility among patients with appropriate inclusion criteria and good compliance with acupuncture treatment. A significant reduction in the BFI-C score was observed at 2 weeks in the 14 participants who received active acupuncture compared with those receiving the placebo (P < 0.01). At week 6, symptoms further improved according to the BFI-C (P < 0.001) and the FACT-LCS (P = 0.002). There were no significant differences in the incidence of adverse events in either group (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Fatigue is a common symptom experienced by lung cancer patients. Acupuncture may be a safe and feasible optional method for adjunctive treatment in cancer palliative care, and appropriately powered trials are warranted to evaluate the effects of acupuncture.

10.1007/s00520-017-3812-7

PMID:28707168

English

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