Acupuncture may be a useful adjunctive treatment for reducing fatigue in palliative cancer care, report Chinese investigators. They performed a randomised pilot trial on 28 lung cancer patients presenting with cancer-related fatigue (CRF) who were randomly assigned to receive verum acupuncture (bilateral Hegu L.I.-4, Qihai REN-6, Zusanli ST-36, Taichong KID-3 and Sanyinjiao SP-6) or placebo acupuncture (using a non-penetrating placebo needle at the same points), twice per week for four weeks. A significant reduction in fatigue scores was observed after two weeks of treatment in the participants who received verum acupuncture compared with those receiving the placebo treatment. At week six (two weeks post-treatment) symptoms had further improved in the acupuncture group relative to placebo.
Acupuncture for cancer-related fatigue in lung cancer patients: a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled pilot trial. Support Care Cancer. 2017 Jul 13.
Quelle: www.jcm.co.uk