Umbrella review: Summary of findings for acupuncture as treatment for radiation-induced xerostomia

Abstract

Acupuncture is a common part of complementary medicine. However, traditional Chinese acupuncture has been built on concepts which are not in accordance with science-based medicine. Our aim was to critically assess the evidence presented in systematic reviews (SRs) and meta-analyses (MAs) about the effectiveness of acupuncture on radiotherapy induced xerostomia. A systematic search was conducted in February 2022. We evaluated all SRs/MAs using the AMSTAR-2 instrument. Eight SRs, with 12 controlled studies were included. All SRs summarize that the methodological drawbacks do not allow to give a clear statement about the effectiveness of acupuncture. While objective assessments in most SRs/MAs reported no difference between real and sham acupuncture, some favorable effects on subjective xerostomia symptoms are found. No clinical meaningful effectiveness of acupuncture on xerostomia has been proven so far, but positive subjective findings need to be explored more. While most SRs recommend further studies, studies involving patients with a serious cancer diagnosis are ethically questionable.