Vickers, A. J., Straus, D. J., Fearon, B., & Cassileth, B. R. (2004). Acupuncture for postchemotherapy fatigue: a phase II study. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 22, 1731–1735.
Traditional Chinese acupuncture was performed twice per week for four weeks or once per week for six weeks. The acupuncturists used points commonly used for fatigue.
Acupuncture was delivered in an Integrative Medicine clinic.
The study used a single-arm, phase II, pilot design.
Mean improvement was 31.1% (confidence interval [CI] [20.6%, 41.5%]); 39% of patients improved by greater than 40%. Younger and less depressed patients showed a greater response.
Acupuncture may affect serotonin pathways. No adverse events occurred.
Certified acupuncturists are needed. Once weekly treatment was preferable. The intervention seemed to show benefits that suggest it is worthy of further study.