Table 1.
Characteristics of included trials.
| Study & setting | Types of cancer | Sample size | Acupoints stimulation intervention | Control | Primary and/or secondary outcomes∗ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Types of acupoints stimulation | Selected acupoints | |||||
| Sa1: Bao et al., 2014 [26] Two cancer centers, USA |
Breast cancer |
Randomized = 51 Completed = 47 Intervention group: 23, age (yr) = median 61 (45–85) Control group: 24, age (yr) = Median 61 (44–82) |
Intervention: manual acupuncture Practitioner: acupuncturist Frequency: weekly treatment Total duration: 8 weeks |
Guanyuan (CV4), Qihai (CV6), Zhongwan (CV12), Hegu (LI4) Master of Heart 6 (MH6), Yanglingquan (GB34), Zusanli (ST36), Taixi (KI3), and Shugu (BL65) |
Sham acupuncture: nonpenetrating retractable needles at 14 sham acupoints located at the midpoint of the line connecting 2 real acupoints |
(i) Depression: Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CESD) (ii) Anxiety: Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS-A) (iii) Sleep quality: Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) (iv) Adverse events |
|
| ||||||
| S2: Deng et al., 2013 [27] A cancer center, USA |
Various types of cancer |
Randomized = 101 Completed = 74 Intervention group: 47, age (yr) = median 54 (IRQ 46, 58) Control group: 50, age (yr) = median 53 (IRQ 45, 59) |
Intervention: manual acupuncture Practitioner: acupuncturist Frequency: weekly treatment Total duration: 6 weeks |
Qihai (CV6), Guanyuan (CV4), Taixi (KI3), Zusanli (ST36), Sanyinjiao (SP6), Quchi (LI11), Yinxi (HT6), and auricular point for antidepression |
Sham acupuncture: Blunt-tipped needles used at a few millimeters off the meridians and away from the points used in true acupuncture |
(i) Anxiety and Depression: Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) (ii) Adverse events |
|
| ||||||
| S3: Feng et al., 2011 [28] Department of TCM, General Hospital of PLA, China |
Various types of cancer |
Randomized = 80 Completed = 80 Intervention group: 40, age (yr) = 63.80 ± 5.47 Control group: 40, age (yr) = 63.60 ± 4.26 |
Intervention: manual acupuncture Practitioner: acupuncturist Frequency: daily treatment Total duration: 30 days |
Fenglong (ST40); Yinlingquan (SP9); Xuehai (SP10); Sanyinjiao (SP6); Yintang (EX-HN3); Baihui (DU20); Sishencong (EX-HN1); Neiguan (PC6); and Shenmen (TF4) | Standard methods of treatment/care: standard medication using antidepressant | (i) Depression: Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) and Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) (ii) Sleep quality: Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) |
|
| ||||||
| S4: Mao et al., 2014 [29] A cancer center, USA |
Breast cancer |
Randomized = 67 Completed = 59 Intervention group: 22, age (yr) = 57.5 ± 10.1 Control group 1: 22 age (yr) = 60.9 ± 6.5 Control group 2: 23 age (yr) = 60.6 ± 8.2 |
Intervention: electroacupuncture Practitioner: acupuncturist Frequency: twice per week for 2 weeks and weekly treatment for the following 6 weeks Total duration: 8 weeks |
At least 4 local points around the joint with the most pain and at least 4 distant points to address nonpain symptoms commonly observed in conjunction with pain |
Sham electroacupuncture (control 1): nonpenetrating needles at nonacupuncture, nontrigger points at least 5 cm from the joint where pain was perceived to be maximal Wait-list control (control 2) |
(i) Anxiety and depression: Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) (ii) Sleep quality: Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) |
|
| ||||||
| S5: Tang et al., 2014 [30] A medical center, Taiwan |
Lung cancer |
Randomized = 57 Completed = 45 Group 1: 17, age (yr) = 53.9 ± 9.8 Group 2: 24, age (yr) = 54.8 ± 9.5 Group 3: 16, age (yr) = 66.1 ± 8.0 |
Intervention: acupressure Practitioner: research assistant with acupressure training Frequency: daily treatment Total duration: 5 months |
Hegu (LI4); Zusanli (ST36); Sanyinjiao (SP6) |
Sham acupressure: sham acupressure at sham acupoints located at first metacarpal head, patella, and inner ankle |
(i) Anxiety and depression: Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) (ii) Sleep Quality: Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) |
|
| ||||||
| S6: Walker et al., 2010 [31] Oncology clinics, USA |
Breast cancer |
Randomized = 50 Completed = 27, age (yr) = median 55 (35–77) Intervention group: 25 Control group: 25 |
Intervention: manual acupuncture Practitioner: not reported Frequency: twice per week for the first 4 weeks and once per week for the following 8 weeks Total duration: 12 weeks for intervention and 1 year for follow-up |
Kidney 3; Urinary bladder 23; Spleen 6; Gallbladder 20; Du 14; Du 20; Stomach 36; Liver 3; Heart 7; Pericardium 7; Ren 6; Lung 9 | Standard methods of treatment/care: standard medication using antidepressant | (i) Depression: Beck Depression Inventory-Primary Care (BDI-PC) (ii) Adverse events |
|
| ||||||
| S7: Frisk et al., 2012 [32] Three participating centers, Sweden |
Breast cancer |
Randomized = 45 Completed = 18 Intervention group: 26 age (yr) = mean 54.1 (47–69) Control group: 18 age (yr) = mean 53.4 (43–67) |
Intervention: electroacupuncture Practitioner: physiotherapist Frequency: twice a week the first two weeks and then once a week for 10 weeks Total duration: 12 weeks |
Xinshu (BL15); Shenshu (BL23); Ciliao (BL32); Baihui (GV20); Shenmen (HE7); Neiguan (PC6); Taichong (LR3); Sanyinjiao (SP6); Yinlingquan (SP9) |
Standard methods of treatment/care: standard medication (sequential or continuous combined estrogen/progestagen therapy for hot flushes) | (i) Depression/anxiety: Psychological and General Well-Being Index (PGWB) and Women's Health Questionnaire (WHQ) (ii) Sleep data: the numbers of times wake-up/night and hours of sleep (iii) Adverse events |
|
| ||||||
| S8: Molassiotis et al., 2012 [33] Two cancer hospitals, four cancer centers, and three treatment centers of a national voluntary breast cancer organization, United Kingdom |
Breast cancer |
Randomized = 302 Completed = 246 Intervention group: 227, age (yr) = mean 52 (30–75) Control group: 75, age (yr) = mean 53 (25–80) |
Intervention: manual acupuncture Practitioner: therapists with acupuncture training Frequency: 6 sessions with each session lasting 20 min Total duration: 6 weeks |
Zusanli (ST36); Sanyinjiao (SP6); Hegu (LI4); and some alternative points [Yanglingquan (GB34) and Yinlingquan (SP9)] | Standard methods of treatment/care: enhanced usual care with information booklet on how to cope with fatigue | (i) Anxiety and depression: Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) (ii) Adverse events |
|
| ||||||
| S9: Molassiotis et al., 2013 [34] Two cancer hospitals, four cancer centers, and three treatment centers of a national voluntary breast cancer organization, United Kingdom |
Breast cancer |
Randomized = 198 Completed = 151, age (yr) = mean: 53 Intervention group: 65 Control group 1: 67 Control group 2: 65 |
Intervention: manual acupuncture Practitioner: acupuncturist Frequency: weekly treatment Total duration: 4 weeks |
Zusanli (ST36); Sanyinjiao (SP6); Hegu (LI4) |
Self-acupuncture (control 1): self-acupuncture at Zusanli (ST36) and Sanyinjiao (SP6) No acupuncture (control 2) |
(i) Anxiety and depression: Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) (ii) Adverse events |
|
| ||||||
| S10: Xiang et al., 2006 [35] A TCM hospital, Beijing, China |
Various types of cancer (details not given) |
Randomized = 92 Completed = 92 Intervention group: 46, age (yr) = 41–82 Control group: 46, age (yr) = 37–89 |
Intervention: electroacupuncture + music therapy Practitioner: doctor Frequency: daily treatment Total duration: 4 weeks |
Neiguan (PC6); Zusanli (ST36); Sanyinjiao (SP6); Baihui (DU20); Taixi (KI3); Yintang (EX-HN3); and so forth. | Music therapy + standard methods of treatment/care (usual care) | Depression: Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) and Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) |
|
| ||||||
| S11: Shi et al., 2013 [36] A hospital, Anhui, China |
Gynecological cancer |
Randomized = 30 Completed = 30 Intervention group: 15, age (yr) = 43.3 ± 1.94 Control group: 15, age (yr) = 45.0 ± 1.49 |
Intervention: manual acupuncture Practitioner: not reported Frequency: twice per week Total duration: 3 months |
Neiguan (PC6); Zusanli (ST36); Sanyinjiao (SP6); Taichong (LR3); Hegu (LI4); Guanyuan (RN4); Qihai (RN6); Taixi (KI3); Shenshu (BL23); Ganshu (BL18); Pishu (BL20) | Standard methods of treatment/care: usual care | Depression: Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) |
aS = study, ∗Primary and/or secondary outcomes which were determined by the systematic review.