Cancer-related fatigue in non-small cell lung cancer patients treated with transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation during periods of chemotherapy: an experimental pilot study

Abstract

Objective To explore the effectiveness of transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) approach in treating patients with cancer-related fatigue during periods of chemotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients in China. Methods A total of 162 participants who treated with GP chemotherapy were randomly assigned to three groups: 66 cases in control group, 61 cases in TEAS group, 67 cases in Sham TEAS group. The following acupoints were used in this study: Qihai (CV 6), Keshu (UB 17), and Zusanli (ST 36). Participants in TEAS group and Sham TEAS group received eight 30-min sessions of TEAS over 28 days. The Revised Piper Fatigue Scale (RPFS) and the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-Core 30 (EORTC-QLQ-C30) were used to measure cancer related fatigue (CRF) on the day before chemotherapy days 8 and 28 separately. The differences among three groups were analyzed. Results Finally, 167 patients were included in this study, 56 cases in control group, 57 cases in TEAS group, 49 cases in Sham TEAS group. At the 28th day, the outcomes of the RPFS for TEAS group, Sham TEAS group and control groupscored 2.06 ± 0.90, 2.80 ± 1.34, 3.00 ± 1.29 respectively. There were significantly different among three groups (F=9.784, P<0.01). At the 28th day, the outcomes of the EORTC-QLQ-C30 for TEAS group, Sham TEAS group and control groupscored 64.56±5.00, 54.90±6.25, 54.48 ± 9.68 respectively. There were significantly different among three groups (F=34.119, P<0.01). Conclusions TEAS could help to relived cancer-related fatigue. Key words: Lung neoplasms; Cancer-related fatigue; Transcutaneouselectrical acupoint stimulation; Experimental study