Tofthagen, C., Boses, S., Healy, G., & Jooma, N. (2015). Evaluation of group acupuncture for cancer-related symptoms: A retrospective analysis. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 18, 878–880.
To evaluate the effects of group acupuncture on specific cancer-related symptoms in persons with cancer receiving outpatient treatment
Retrospective participants completed an assessment prior to the first study and following weekly treatments; received group acupuncture at a rate of up to eight patients an hour provided in a staggered fashion by one practitioner. Meridian diagnosis established the acupoint prescription based on patient symptom complaint. Instead of standardized treatments, many factors were considered to tailor individual acupuncture treatments for the patients symptoms.
Patients completed a pre-study and pre-treatment assessment for seven basic cancer-related symptoms (pain/numbness, dry mouth, headache, fatigue, sleep trouble, nausea, digestion) on a numeric rating scale (0–10).
Patients who completed four group acupuncture treatments reported significantly less pain/numbness and problems with digestion. There were no significant changes in any of the other symptoms (sleep, fatigue, dry mouth, headache, or nausea). Comparing baseline symptom data to week 3 revealed no significant improvement for any symptom.
This retrospective analysis pilot study of mostly patients with breast cancer with unknown treatment/medical history were evaluated over four weeks of acupuncture treatment, revealing significantly reduced reports of pain/numbness and digestive complaints after the fourth treatment. It could not be determined if this was clinically meaningful or a durable response.