Abstract
Objective To investigate the potential benefits and safety of acupuncture on managing side effects induced by drug therapies in patients with breast cancer using a PRISMA standard systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods Published randomised controlled trials from nine databases in English and Chinese language were searched. Trials with a real acupuncture treatment group and a control group with sham acupuncture, no treatment, or waitlist control were included. The primary outcome of this study was the therapeutic effects on five symptoms induced by drug therapies, including gastrointestinal disorder, neuropathy, arthralgia, joint symptoms, and cognitive impairment. The quality of life was assessed as a secondary outcome. The risk of bias of each study was analysed according to the Cochrane Handbook. Results Sixteen randomised controlled trials with 1189 participants were included in the meta-analysis. The primary outcome and all subgroup analyses showed statistically significant improvements in the management of side effects by real acupuncture. The quality of life of patients has enhanced during the treatment. Conclusion Although the number of publications is limited, a clear preliminary conclusion could be drawn by the meta-analysis, suggesting the beneficial adjuvant role of acupuncture in patients with breast cancer who receive drug therapies. No serious adverse events were observed from all the RCTs, and the safety of acupuncture is ascertained. More standardised and sophisticated large-scale randomised controlled trials are needed to evaluate the findings further.
Highlights
Breast cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide [1]
Several systemic reviews had discussed some aspects of cancer treatment side effects by acupuncture, but recent updates are unavailable on the specific benefits of acupuncture to the breast cancer patients receiving drug therapy
After the evaluation of the title, abstract, and full text, 21 published randomised controlled trials (RCTs) were selected for appraisal. irteen of them were English studies, and eight of them were from Chinese language journals or thesis
Summary
To investigate the potential benefits and safety of acupuncture on managing side effects induced by drug therapies in patients with breast cancer using a PRISMA standard systematic review and meta-analysis. E primary outcome of this study was the therapeutic effects on five symptoms induced by drug therapies, including gastrointestinal disorder, neuropathy, arthralgia, joint symptoms, and cognitive impairment. Sixteen randomised controlled trials with 1189 participants were included in the meta-analysis. E primary outcome and all subgroup analyses showed statistically significant improvements in the management of side effects by real acupuncture. The number of publications is limited, a clear preliminary conclusion could be drawn by the meta-analysis, suggesting the beneficial adjuvant role of acupuncture in patients with breast cancer who receive drug therapies. More standardised and sophisticated large-scale randomised controlled trials are needed to evaluate the findings further
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