Abstract
Introduction: Acupuncture is a technique of Traditional Chinese Medicine in which needling stimulates body points, promoting therapeutic effects and energetic balance of organs and viscera. Disruption of the natural flow of stomach descent force and rising Qi can cause nausea and vomiting (N/V), the main side effects of chemotherapy, related to reduced adherence and prolonged treatment. Objective: To conduct a literature review on the role of acupuncture in the management of nausea and vomiting after chemotherapy. Methodology: Articles (randomized blinded clinical trials, systematic reviews with meta-analysis, integrative literature reviews, therapeutic manuals, epidemiological databases) were searched on PubMed between 2012 and 2022. Exclusion criteria were outdated articles and/or those focused on a specific patient profile or neoplastic pathology. Result and discussion: In case of high- risk therapies, nausea and vomiting are hardly treatable with conventional antiemetics. When acupuncture was compared to ondansetron, there was a more significant response in the acupuncture group (52.8%) than in the ondansetron group (35.7%). There was a significant decrease in the frequency of N/V between the first and second chemotherapy cycles (P < 0.0358) and in their intensity (P < 0.0087) between the control group and patients who received transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) therapy at acupuncture point PC6. Conclusion: Acupuncture can be used as an alternative and complementary treatment, especially for patients who do not tolerate the side effects of conventional antiemetics. However, the literature is still controversial due to the small number of available studies and/or small sample
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