Table 1.
Characteristics of included studies
|
Studies |
No. of patients |
Acupuncture group |
Control group intervention |
Assessment of outcomes |
Duration |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acupoints | Intervention | |||||
| Cai and Wu [19] |
80 |
Fixed points: ST36 |
Acupuncture + GP and Ondansetrontdn Dexamethasone |
GP and Ondansetron Dexamethasone |
Nausea and vomiting |
8 weeks |
| Chen [20] |
32 |
Fixed points: ST36 and BL23 |
Astragalus injection in acupuncture points + NP/CE and Huangqilifei decoction |
NP/CE and Huangqilifei decoction |
Tumor response; immunomodulation (CD3+, CD4+, CD4/CD8); KPS; survival rate; chemotoxicity |
8 weeks |
| Chen [21] |
60 |
Fixed points: BL13, LU1, LU9, ST36, PC6, etc. |
Acupuncture + TP/GP and Chinese herbs by syndrome differentiation |
TP/GP and Chinese herbs by syndrome differentiation |
Tumor response; clinical symptom improvement; immunomodulation |
8 weeks |
| Chen [22] |
60 |
Fixed points: RN4 |
Ginger moxibustion + general nursing care |
General nursing care |
Sleep quality and WBCs |
10 days |
| Chen et al. [23] |
50 |
Fixed points: LU9, PC6, ST36, BL23, DU14 |
Acupuncture + CAP/EP |
CAP/EP |
NK and leukocyte cells |
8 weeks |
| Ding [24]a |
86 |
Fixed points : LU9, BL13, ST36, ST40, SP3, BL20, BL43 (bilateral) |
Acupuncture + Fu zhen gan fei decoction |
Fu zhen gan fei Decoction |
Clinical symptom improvement; WBCs; Hb; Plt; KPS |
8 weeks |
| Ding [25]b |
32 |
Fixed points: ST36, PC6 |
Acupuncture + cis-platinum based chemotherapy and ondansetron |
Cis-platinum based chemotherapy and ondansetron |
Nausea and vomiting |
4 weeks |
| Fan & Wei [26] |
80 |
Fixed points: ST36 |
Vitamin B6 acupoint injection + NP/TP chemotherapy combined with ondansetron |
NP/TP chemotherapy combined with ondansetron |
Nausea and vomiting; KPS |
Not reported |
| Gu et al. [27] |
40 |
Fixed points: ST36, RN4, BL23, DU4 |
Acupoint plaster application + Chinese herbs (unclear ingredient) |
Chinese herbs (unclear ingredient) |
Immunomodulation (CD3+, CD4+, CD4/CD8), IL-2 |
8 weeks |
| He & Lou [28] |
49 |
PC6, LI10, SP46, SP4 (bilateral); RN12 (unilateral); auricular point: liver, spleen, shen men, jiao gan |
Acupoint stimulation + EP with ondansetron |
EP with ondansetron |
Nausea and vomiting; chemotoxicity |
3 days |
| Huang [29] |
40 |
LU9, BL13, BL17, ST36 (bilateral) |
Crude herb moxibustion (Semen Brassicae, Manchurian Wildginger, Ephedra sinica Stapf ) + cis-platinum based chemotherapy |
Cis-platinum based chemotherapy |
Chemotoxicity; living quality; body weight; clinical symptoms; tumor size; immunomodulation (CD3+, CD4+, CD4/CD8) |
6 weeks |
| Huang et al. [30] |
80 |
PC6, ST21, ST36 (bilateral) |
Acupoint plaster application + NP/GP with ondansetron |
NP/GP with ondansetron |
Survival; KPS; clinical symptom improvement; chemotoxicity |
3 weeks |
| Jiang et al. [31] |
43 |
BL23, ST36 (bilateral); DU4, RN4 (unilateral) |
Acupoint plaster application decoction (of herbal medicine) + gemcitabine/ pemetrexed/docetaxel |
Gemcitabine/pemetrexed/docetaxel |
Time to progression (TTP); quality of life |
8 weeks |
| Li [32] |
60 |
BL13, BL15, BL17 (bilateral) |
Acupoint plaster application with decoction (of Semen Brassicae, Manchurian Wildginger, Ephedra sinica Stapf) + Diprophylline |
Diprophylline |
Dyspnea valuated by numeric scale |
7 days |
| Lin et al. [33] |
83 |
BL17 (bilateral) |
Acupuncture + NP/EP |
NP/EP |
Chemotoxicity (reduction of WBCs, Hb, Plt) ; KPS |
10 days |
| Lin et al. [34] |
80 |
four flowers acupoints: BL17, BL19 (bilateral) |
Moxibustion + NP with Granisetron hydrochloride |
NP with Granisetron Hydrochloride |
Chemotoxicity (reduction of WBCs, Hb, Plt) |
10 days |
| Lin [34] |
60 |
ST36, BL13 (bilateral) |
Acupoint injection (Chuan ke zhi) + Aminophylline injection |
Aminophylline injection |
KPS; immunomodulation (CD3+, CD4+); clinical symptoms improvement |
2 weeks |
| Liu & Wang [35] |
60 |
RN12 |
Acupoint plaster application with herbal medicine (Pinellia Tuber and Syzygium aromaticum, etc.) + cis-platinum based chemotherapy + Granisetron hydrochloride injection |
Cis-platinum based chemotherapy + Granisetron Hydrochloride injection |
KPS; appetite score |
3 days |
| Lou [36] |
51 |
bilateral: ST36, RN4, LU5 |
Acupoint magnet + GP |
GP |
Immunomodulation (CD3+, CD4+, CD4/CD8) |
2 weeks |
| Ou Yang et al. [37] |
69 |
RN8 |
Moxibustion with salt + NP/GP |
NP/GP |
Clinical symptom improvement; immunomodulation (CD3+, CD4+, CD11+); nausea and vomiting |
4 ~ 8 weeks |
| Qiao et al. [38] |
56 |
Ashi acupoints, ST36, KI1 |
Millimeter wave treatment + Gu se fang granules |
Gu se fang granules |
Clinical symptom improvement; KPS |
4 weeks |
| Shi et al. [39] |
32 |
ST36, BL23, BL20, RN6, RN4, LU10, LI10, LI4, SI3, PC4, PC6, SJ6 (bilateral) |
Acupuncture + general anesthesia |
General anesthesia |
Immunomodulation (CD3+, CD4+, CD4/CD8) |
Not reported |
| Tao et al. [40] |
100 |
ST36, PC6 (bilateral); RN4 |
Acupoint plaster application + chemotherapy with metoclopramide or ondansetron |
Chemotherapy with metoclopramide or ondansetron |
Nausea and vomiting |
7 days |
| Wang [41] |
60 |
Four flowers acupoints: BL17, BL19 (bilateral) |
Moxibustion + NP |
NP |
TNF-α, IL-2, WBCs; nausea and vomiting; KPS |
7 days |
| Xu [42] |
60 |
Four flowers acupoints: BL17, BL19 (bilateral) |
Fire needle therapy + GP/DP combined with ondansetron |
GP/DP combined with ondansetron |
Immunomodulation (CD3+, CD4+, CD4/CD8); TNF-α, IL-2; KPS |
7 days |
| Xu et al. [43] |
45 |
ST36, DU14 |
Acupoint injection (Radix Sophorae Flavescentis extraction) + anti-tumor Chinese herbs |
Anti-tumor Chinese herbs |
KPS; blood cells; chemotoxicity (WBCs, Hb, Plt) |
4 weeks |
| Xuan et al. [44] |
60 |
BL13 (bilateral); DU14 |
Acupoint plaster application + traditional Chinese medicine |
Traditional Chinese medicine |
Immunomodulation (CD3+, CD4+, CD4/CD8); KPS |
4 weeks |
| Zhang [45] |
60 |
Four flowers acupoints: BL17, BL19 (bilateral) |
Moxibustion + GP/DP combined with ondansetron |
GP/DP combined with ondansetron |
Immunomodulation (CD3+, CD4+, CD4/CD8), TNF-α, IL-2, CSF; KPS |
7 days |
| Zhang & Cheng. [46] |
40 |
ST36, BL13 |
Chuan ke zhi injection combined with Aminophylline injection to acupoint + routine treatment for symptoms |
Routine treatment for symptoms |
Lung function, clinical symptoms; immunomodulation (CD3+, CD4+, CD4/CD8) |
2 weeks |
| Zhou et al. [47] |
15 |
ST36, BL23, BL20, RN6, RN4, LU10, LI10, LI4, SI3, PC4, PC6, SJ6 (bilateral) |
Acupuncture + general anesthesia |
General anesthesia |
Immunomodulation (CD3+, CD4+, CD4/CD8) |
Not reported |
| Zhou et al. [48] | 35 | Acupoint selection treatment based on syndrome differentiation | Abdominal acupuncture + routine treatment for symptoms | Routine treatment for symptoms | KPS, EORTC-QLQ-C30 | 4 weeks |
CAP, cyclophosphamide + adriamycin + cisplatinum; CE, carboplatin and etoposide; CSF, colony stimulating factors; DP, docetaxel + cisplatinum; EP, VP-16 + cisplatinum; GP, gemcitabine + cisplatinum; Hb, hemoglobin; KPS, Karnofsky performance score; NP, vinorelbine + cisplatinum; Plt, platelet; TP, paclitaxel + cisplatinum; WBCs, white blood cells.