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


Author: Cheng CS1,2, Chen LY1,2, Ning ZY1,2, Zhang CY1,2, Chen H1,2, Chen Z1,2, Zhu XY3,4, Xie J5,6

Affiliation: <sup>1</sup>Deparment of Integrative Oncology, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, 270 Dong'An Road, Shanghai, 200032, China.

<sup>2</sup>Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, 270 Dong'An Road, Shanghai, 200032, China.

<sup>3</sup>Deparment of Integrative Oncology, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, 270 Dong'An Road, Shanghai, 200032, China. zhuxiaoyanx@126.com.

<sup>4</sup>Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, 270 Dong'An Road, Shanghai, 200032, China. zhuxiaoyanx@126.com.

<sup>5</sup>Deparment of Integrative Oncology, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, 270 Dong'An Road, Shanghai, 200032, China. isable624@163.com.

<sup>6</sup>Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, 270 Dong'An Road, Shanghai, 200032, China. isable624@163.com.
Conference/Journal: Support Care Cancer.
Date published: 2017 Jul 13
Other:
  Special Notes: doi: 10.1007/s00520-017-3812-7. [Epub ahead of print]   ,  Word Count: 275  
    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.



KEYWORDS: Acupuncture; Cancer-related fatigue; Lung cancer; Quality of life



PMID: 28707168  DOI: 10.1007/s00520-017-3812-7