Molassiotis, A., Sylt, P., & Diggins, H. (2007). The management of cancer-related fatigue after chemotherapy with acupuncture and acupressure: a randomised controlled trial. Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 15, 228–237.

The study was a randomized, controlled trial of acupuncture (n = 15); acupressure (n = 16); and sham acupressure (n = 16). Acupuncture included six 20-minute sessions over two weeks. Acupressure involved self-applying pressure to the same points daily. Sham acupressure involved self-applying pressure to nonenergy points. The selected acupuncture points were energy points that have been used for more than 2,000 years.

• The study included 47 patients with cancer who experienced moderate to severe fatigue (greater than 5 on a 1–10 scale) who were at least one month postchemotherapy.
• Of the participants, 32 of 47 were female and all but one were Caucasian.
• Mean age was 53.4 years (range 20–76).
• Patients were excluded if they had needle phobia, platelets less than 50,000, hematocrit (HCT) less than 30, Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) less than 70, or were on steroids.

Patients were recruited from an outpatient clinic, an acupuncture treatment setting in a hospital in the United Kingdom, or in their own homes.

The study was a small randomized, controlled trial with blinding between two acupressure conditions.

• Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI) pretreatment and at two and four weeks
• Daily log for acupressure groups

The study included an intention-to-treat (ITT) analysis. Significant improvements existed in general fatigue (p < 0.001), physical fatigue (p = 0.016), activity (p = 0.004), and motivation (p = 0.024). Patients showed 36% improvement in acupuncture, 19% in acupressure, and 0.6% in sham acupressure. The effect was not sustained at the same level after two weeks.

• The drop-out rate was 15%.
• It was not possible to blind the acupuncture group.
• Travel to the clinical site to receive acupuncture or acupressure treatment was a barrier.

Spot bleeding was observed in two cases. Trained acupuncturists are necessary. A detailed description of acupuncture was given using Standards of Reporting Interventons of Controlled Trials of Acupuncture (STRICTA) guidelines.