Acupuncture for Cancer-Induced Bone Pain: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Metastatic bone pain in cancer is often severe, unremitting and poorly controlled,1 and the drugs used to control the pain can have unpleasant side effects.2 Patients may survive months or years after diagnosis3 and therefore it is important for them to enjoy as high a quality of life as possible. Acupuncture represents a potential adjunctive treatment for cancer-induced bone pain (CIBP) and yet a recent Cochrane Review4 and an earlier systematic review5 found no studies investigating its use in CIBP. There is also a lack of information about the suitability of acupuncture for these patients. The primary aim of this pilot study was to investigate tolerability, safety and patient satisfaction with a single acupuncture treatment on patients with CIBP in order to inform the design of a larger feasibility trial. A non-randomised design was used with a convenience sample of 10 patients with CIBP. Ethics approval was obtained from Leeds Central Research Ethics Committee (ref: 08/H1313/65) and NHS permission was given to recruit cancer outpatients within Airedale NHS Foundation Trust. Patients were identified by consultants as experiencing significant pain from bony metastases with global average pain intensity of ≥3 on a Numerical Rating Scale (NRS). This level corresponds closely with findings that patients quantify severe pain as being ≤35 mm on a Visual Analogue Scale.6 Patients were screened to ensure that they met additional eligibility criteria of having a prognosis of 3 months or more, no prior experience of acupuncture and an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG)status of 1 or 2.7 Eligible patients were approached during routine clinic visits and were given …