Table 3.

Studies concerning acupuncture as anticancer treatment.

Study type	Results	Ref.
Case series	patients with superficial tumors underwent electroacupuncture: – 123 were CR – 129 were PR – 36 with their tumor shrinked by 1/4 – 32 – no change in tumor size was observed The ORR (CR + PR) was 78.7%	[34]
Case series	106 patients with liver cancer – the ORR was the highest (73.7%) in the group where both electroacupuncture and liver artery intubation chemotherapy were performed – the other two groups of either electroacupuncture or liver artery intubation chemotherapy presented with ORR of 55.6% and 28.1% respectively	[35]
Case series	Omura’s ST36 point stimulation: – decrease in cancer cell telomere, integrin α5β1 and oncogen C-fos Ab2 expression	[36]
Case report	52-year-old woman with DCIS – regression of DCIS after treatment with acupuncture	[37]
Animal model	Mice with transplanted mammary cancer – acupunctured group exhibited less tumor volume (p < 0.01) – higher lymphocytic infiltration degree of tumor (p < 0.05)	[9]
Animal model	Liver cancer, gastric cancer and hypodermic tumor rat models were obtained by implantation of replicated Walker-256 cell strain. – the gross tumor volume in electroacupunctured group was significantly smaller than in control group (p < 0.05)	[38]
Animal model	Mice with implanted osteosarcoma – stimulation of ST36 acupoint: – twice weekly beginning at postimplantation day 3: reduction in tumor growth, tumor lymphatics, vasculature and innervation; marked reduction in pulmonary metastasis – twice weekly starting at postimplantation day 7: significant increase in tumor growth	[39]
Animal model	Mice with inoculated Lewis lung carcinoma – group of acupuncture combined with paclitaxel presented significantly lower tumor mass than in both groups where either acupuncture or medication was applied	[40]
Systematic review and meta-analysis	– enhancement of immediate tumor response	[41]

CR – complete remission; PR – partial remission; ORR – overall response rate; DCIS – ductal carcinoma in situ