Reference Citation(s)	Type of Study	Condition Treated	No. of Patients: Enrolled; Treated; Controlb	Strongest Benefit Reportedc	Concurrent Therapy (Yes/No/ Unknown)d	Level of Evidence Scoree
[1]	RCT	Symptoms of weight loss, cough, thoracodynia, hemoptysis, fever, and side effects of chemotherapy and radiation therapy	76; 38 acupuncture; 38 no acupuncture	Weight gain, symptom relief, fewer side effectsf	No	1iiC
[35]	Phase I pilot study	Menopausal symptoms in breast cancer patients treated with tamoxifen	15; 15 acupuncture; none	Anxiety, depression, and somatic and vasomotor symptoms improvedg	No	3iiiC
[35]	Nonconsecutive case series, surveyed retrospectively	Unspecified symptoms (including pain, xerostomia, hot flashes, nausea/loss of appetite) from cancer or cancer treatment	79; 79 traditional Chinese acupuncture, auricular acupuncture, percutaneousnerve stimulation, Korean hand acupuncture, or Japanese scalp acupuncture; none	60% showed at least 30% improvement	Yes (standard medical therapies)	3iiiC
[36]	Nonconsecutive case series	Radiation rectitis in women treated for cervical cancer	44; 44 acupuncture; none	73% radiation rectitis cured: no blood or mucus for 15 days	No	3iiiC
[39]	Nonconsecutive case series	Postoperative lower extremity lymphedema in women treated for gynecologic tumors	24; 24 acupuncture and moxibustion; none	Edema prevented or markedly reduced	Unknown	3iiiC
[8]	Nonconsecutive case series	Xerostomia after radiation therapy in patients with cancer	13; 13 acupuncture; none	Symptoms improved	Yes (not specified)	3iiiC
[8]	Nonconsecutive case series	Night sweats, hot flashes in patients with cancer	6; 6 acupuncture; none	Symptoms improved	Yes (not specified)	3iiiC
[37]	Case report	Dysphonia after radiation therapy	1; 1 acupuncture; none	Voice recovered	Unknown	Not applicable
[38]	Case report	Esophageal obstruction in patients with esophageal cancer	2; 2 acupuncture; none	Obstruction relieved and normal bowel movements restored	Yes (not specified)	Not applicable
[44]	Nonconsecutive case series	Vasomotor symptoms for breast and prostate cancer	194; 194; none	79% showed 50% or greater reduction in hot flashes	none	3iiiC
[41]	RCT	Pain/depression	138; 93 acupuncture and massage; 45 usual care	Increased pain relief/decreased depression	Yes (usual care)	1iiC
[40]	RCT	Hot flashes in breast cancer patients treated with tamoxifen and aromatase inhibitors	72; 42; 30	Reduction of hot flashes but no statistical difference between acupuncture and sham treatment	Yes; SSRIs	1iiC
[43]	RCT	Cancer-related fatigue	47; 31; 16	Improved fatigue levels	None	1iiC
[42]	RCT	Hot flushes	45; 27 EA; 18 hormone therapy	Vasomotor symptoms improved	Unknown	1iiC

EA = electroacupuncture; No. = number; RCT = randomized controlled trial; SSRIs = selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.

aSee text and the NCI Dictionary for additional information and definition of terms.

bNumber of patients treated plus number of patients control may not equal number of patients enrolled; number of patients enrolled equals number of patients initially considered by the researcher who conducted a study; number of patients treated equals number of enrolled patients who were given the treatment being studied AND for whom results were reported.

cStrongest evidence reported that the treatment under study has anticancer activity or otherwise improves the well-being of cancer patients.

dConcurrent therapy for symptoms treated (not cancer).

eFor information about levels of evidence analysis and an explanation of the level of evidence scores, see Levels of Evidence for Human Studies of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

f P < .001, versus baseline.

g P < .001, versus baseline.

References

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8. Niemtzow RC: Integration of complementary disciplines into the oncology clinic. Part I. Acupuncture. Curr Probl Cancer 24 (4): 184-93, 2000 Jul-Aug.  [PUBMED Abstract]
   
   
35. Porzio G, Trapasso T, Martelli S, et al.: Acupuncture in the treatment of menopause-related symptoms in women taking tamoxifen. Tumori 88 (2): 128-30, 2002 Mar-Apr.  [PUBMED Abstract]
    
    
36. Zhang ZH: Effect of acupuncture on 44 cases of radiation rectitis following radiation therapy for carcinoma of the cervix uteri. J Tradit Chin Med 7 (2): 139-40, 1987.  [PUBMED Abstract]
    
    
37. Yao W: Prof. Sheng Canruo's experience in acupuncture treatment of throat diseases with yan si xue. J Tradit Chin Med 20 (2): 122-5, 2000.  [PUBMED Abstract]
    
    
38. Feng RZ: Relief of oesophageal carcinomatous obstruction by acupuncture. J Tradit Chin Med 4 (1): 3-4, 1984.  [PUBMED Abstract]
    
    
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40. Deng G, Vickers A, Yeung S, et al.: Randomized, controlled trial of acupuncture for the treatment of hot flashes in breast cancer patients. J Clin Oncol 25 (35): 5584-90, 2007.  [PUBMED Abstract]
    
    
41. Mehling WE, Jacobs B, Acree M, et al.: Symptom management with massage and acupuncture in postoperative cancer patients: a randomized controlled trial. J Pain Symptom Manage 33 (3): 258-66, 2007.  [PUBMED Abstract]
    
    
42. Frisk J, Carlhäll S, Källström AC, et al.: Long-term follow-up of acupuncture and hormone therapy on hot flushes in women with breast cancer: a prospective, randomized, controlled multicenter trial. Climacteric 11 (2): 166-74, 2008.  [PUBMED Abstract]
    
    
43. Molassiotis A, Sylt P, Diggins H: The management of cancer-related fatigue after chemotherapy with acupuncture and acupressure: a randomised controlled trial. Complement Ther Med 15 (4): 228-37, 2007.  [PUBMED Abstract]
    
    
44. Filshie J, Bolton T, Browne D, et al.: Acupuncture and self acupuncture for long-term treatment of vasomotor symptoms in cancer patients--audit and treatment algorithm. Acupunct Med 23 (4): 171-80, 2005.  [PUBMED Abstract]