Haddad, N.E., & Palesh, O. (2014). Acupuncture in the treatment of cancer-related psychological symptoms. Integrative Cancer Therapies, 13, 371–385. 

DOI Link

Purpose

STUDY PURPOSE: To summarize existing research on acupuncture in the treatment of symptoms and quality of life in patients with cancer
 
TYPE OF STUDY: Systematic review

Search Strategy

DATABASES USED: PubMed
 
KEYWORDS: Acupuncture, cancer, depression, anxiety, sleep, insomnia, quality of life
 
INCLUSION CRITERIA: ​Studies in adults using acupuncture in which at least one of the outcomes was reported as a primary or secondary study outcome
 
EXCLUSION CRITERIA: Pediatric patients and review articles

Literature Evaluated

TOTAL REFERENCES RETRIEVED: Not reported
 
EVALUATION METHOD AND COMMENTS ON LITERATURE USED: Standards for reporting interventions in clinical trials of acupuncture guidelines were used, but there were no specific methods of study quality evaluation overall.

Sample Characteristics

FINAL NUMBER STUDIES INCLUDED = 12
 
TOTAL PATIENTS INCLUDED IN REVIEW = 923
 
SAMPLE RANGE ACROSS STUDIES: 10–302 patients
 
KEY SAMPLE CHARACTERISTICS: Studies included perioperative use and patients in hospice care; most of the studies were of patients with breast cancer and breast cancer survivors.

Phase of Care and Clinical Applications

PHASE OF CARE: Multiple phases of care
 
APPLICATIONS: Elder care

Results

The studies included 11 quantitative and one qualitative study. Their findings showed positive effects on sleep in two studies, one of which was a single-arm, nonrandomized study. Positive effects were shown on anxiety in three studies, one of which was single-arm. Four studies showed positive effects on depression, one of which was single-arm. Five studies did not show acupuncture to have any effects. It was noted that acupuncture methodology was inconsistently reported. There also was a lack of data such as standard deviations and change scores.

Conclusions

This review showed mixed results for the effects of acupuncture on sleep, depression, and anxiety. The current evidence has several study design and reporting limitations.

Limitations

  • There was inconsistent reporting of methods and statistical results.
  • There was no quality evaluation of individual studies.
  • No information was provided regarding whether baseline anxiety or depression scores were clinically significant.
  • In many trials, the practitioner delivering the intervention was not reported.

Nursing Implications

There is no strong evidence to support the use of acupuncture for the treatment of anxiety, depression, or sleep disturbances.

Legacy ID

4854