Greenlee, H., Crew, K.D., Capodice, J., Awad, D., Buono, D., Shi, Z., . . . Hershman, D.L. (2016). Randomized sham-controlled pilot trial of weekly electro-acupuncture for the prevention of taxane-induced peripheral neuropathy in women with early stage breast cancer. Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, 156, 453–464. 

To investigate electroacupuncture to prevent or reduce chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (PN) associated with taxanes

Women with breast cancer scheduled to receive 12 weeks of adjuvant or neoadjuvant paclitaxel were recruited. Patients were randomized to receive either 12 weekly electroacupuncture or sham electroacupuncture treatment. These were done within two days of the weekly chemotherapy administration. A standard acupuncture protocol was used. The sham procedure did not include any true acupuncture points, and no electric current was transmitted. Study assessments were conducted at weeks 6, 12, and 16.

• N = 48   
• MEAN AGE = 50.1 years
• AGE RANGE = 27–79
• FEMALES: 100%
• CURRENT TREATMENT: Chemotherapy
• KEY DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS: All had breast cancer and were receiving chemotherapy with taxane; most had paclitaxel only.

• SITE: Single site   
• SETTING TYPE: Outpatient    
• LOCATION: New York

PHASE OF CARE: Active antitumor treatment

Single-blind, sham-controlled, randomized, controlled trial

• Brief Pain Inventory (BPI)
• Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy (FACT) neurotoxicity (NTX) and taxane (TAX) questionnaires
• Grooved pegboard test
• Biothesiometer testing

In the sham group, 45% completed all sessions, and 59% completed the electroacupuncture sessions. The number of sessions attended ranged from 1–12. There were no differences in pain scores at weeks 6 and 12. At week 16, the worst pain in the sham group returned to baseline but increased in the acupuncture group (p = 0.03). There were no differences between groups in biothesiometer or pegboard test results. At week 16, those receiving actual acupuncture reported higher pain on the FACT questionnaires.

Women who received electroacupuncture reported greater increases in pain over time compared to controls. There were no other differences in neuropathy findings between groups.

• Small sample (< 100)
• Subject withdrawals ≥ 10%
• High variability in adherence to sham and actual treatment sessions

The findings of this study did not support the use of electroacupuncture to prevent or mitigate symptoms of PN in women receiving paclitaxel chemotherapy.