Table 1.
Summary of parallel open, randomised clinical studies of moxibustion for cancer
| First author (year) | Sample size Condition |
Intervention group (Regimen) | Control group (Regimen) |
Main outcomes | Intergroup differences | Treated acupuncture points Rationale for point selection |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cheng (2005) [18] | 84 Nasopharyngeal carcinoma |
(A) Moxibustion (once daily for 30 days, n = 42), plus radiotherapy and chemotherapy Indirect |
(B) Chemotherapy and radiotherapy, plus drug therapies for side effects (n = 42) | Response rate | NS, 1.05 [0.95, 1.16] | CV8 n.r. |
| Chen (2000) [19] | 56 Nasopharyngeal carcinoma |
(A) Moxibustion (once daily for 30 days, n = 28), plus (B) Indirect |
(B) Chemotherapy and radiotherapy (n = 28), plus drug therapies for side effects | 1) Response rate 2) Side effect of chemotherapy3) 5-year survival rate |
1) NS, 1.10 [0.83, 1.44] 2) P < 0.05 in favour of A 3) NS, 1.40 [0.75, 2.60] |
CV8 n.r. |
| Cao (1997) [20] | 36 Gastric cancer |
(A) Moxibustion (3 times weekly, n.r, n = 12), plus (B) Indirect |
(B) Chemotherapy(n = 12) (C) Chemotherapy plus drug therapies for side effects (n = 12) |
1) Response rate 2) Side effect of chemotherapy |
1) NS, 2.0 [0.82, 2.34] 2) P < 0.05 in favour of A |
CV8 n.r. |
| Liu (2001) [21] | 81 Various cancer (Malignant tumor) |
(A) Moxibustion (once daily, n.r, n = 30), plus (B) Indirect |
(B) Chemotherapy (n = 35), plus herbal medicine (Gubenyiliu III 400 ml, twice a day) (C) Chemotherapy (n = 16) |
1) Response rate 2) Living quality |
1) NS, 0.99 [0.87, 1.12] 2) NS, 0.22 [-0.27, 0.71] |
GV14, BL17, ST36 n.r. |
| Bian (2004) [22] | 44 Various cancer (cancer pain) |
(A) Moxibustion (2-3 times daily for 20 days, n = 23), plus morphine injection (acupoint, 5-10 mg, twice a day) Indirect |
(B) Morphine injection (10-20 mg, 2-3 times a day, n = 21) | Living quality | P < 0.00001, 2.03 [1.29, 2.78] in favour of A | GV14, CV4, ST36, LI4, ashi-point n.r. |
NS: not significant; n.r.: not reported