Modern cancer research on Chinese medicine: Acupuncture

Abstract

Acupuncture, a popular modality of Chinese medicine, is commonly used to control cancer- or cancer therapy-caused symptoms, and accumulated evidence shows that it can play an important role in support care for cancer patients. The anti-emetic effects of acupuncture are well documented: studies consistently report that the modality significantly reduces the incidences of vomiting in patients receiving chemotherapy, and animal studies show that the combination of electroacupuncture (EA) and anti-emetic drugs produces more significant anti-emesis than either modality alone. Electroacupuncture on a bone cancer model significantly alleviated thermal and mechanic hyperalgesia compared to sham control, and studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of acupuncture on cancer pain in humans. Xerostomia studies show positive findings, with acupuncture increasing salivary flow, an effect that may be due to acupuncture-produced increase in blood flow in the tissues overlying the parotid gland. Patients with fatigue, hot flashes, depression, insomnia, and anxiety also may benefit from the use of acupuncture. Although the majority of these investigations showed positive results that demonstrate the effectiveness of acupuncture on symptom control, the findings of most have limited significance due to methodological weaknesses such as small sample size, absence of patient blinding to treatment, lack of standard outcome measurements, and inadequate randomization. Clearly, large-scale, placebo-controlled double-blind trials are needed to investigate the effect of acupuncture on these symptoms using rigorous, scientific methodology. © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2010.