Abstract
The objective of this chapter is to provide an overview of the specific effects of acupuncture and moxibustion for cancer-related symptoms. Three databases, MEDLINE, AMED and EMBASE, were searched from their inception through February 2012. The selection of studies, data extraction, and validations were performed independently by two reviewers. The risk of bias was assessed using the guidelines of the Cochrane collaboration. A total of seven randomized controlled trials comparing real acupuncture and sham acupuncture were identified. The majority of the included studies had a low risk of bias. In two studies which assessed hot flash symptoms in breast cancer patients, acupuncture showed specific effects compared with sham acupuncture. In two studies that evaluated the efficacy of acupuncture on radiation therapy-induced xerostomia, acupuncture improved the subjective and objective outcomes of xerostomia significantly more than a sham-treatment. One study that tested the anti-emetic effect of acupuncture demonstrated that the number of patients experiencing nausea did not decrease significantly in the real acupuncture group. In one study that evaluated the efficacy of acupuncture on aromatase inhibitor-induced joint symptoms in breast cancer patients, the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index pain score was significantly improved in the real acupuncture group. Another study that tested the effect of electroacupuncture treatment on radiation therapy-induced fatigue demonstrated that there was no significant improvement in the real acupuncture group. This chapter concluded that there is currently no conclusive evidence whether acupuncture or moxibustion are better than placebo for treating on various cancer-related symptoms or not.
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Acknowledgment
MSL was supported by the KIOM (K11111 and C12080).
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Lee, M., Kim, TH., Ernst, E. (2012). Is Acupuncture or Moxibustion Better than a Sham or Placebo-Treatment?. In: Cho, W. (eds) Acupuncture and Moxibustion as an Evidence-based Therapy for Cancer. Evidence-based Anticancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine, vol 3. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4833-0_11
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4833-0_11
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