Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Acupuncture for the treatment of post-chemotherapy chronic fatigue: a randomized, blinded, sham-controlled trial

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Supportive Care in Cancer Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

Many cancer patients experience persistent fatigue after the completion of chemotherapy. A previous single-arm study provided evidence for an effect of acupuncture in this population. We conducted a randomized controlled trial to determine whether acupuncture reduces post-chemotherapy chronic fatigue more effectively than sham acupuncture.

Methods

Cancer patients reporting significant fatigue persisting for at least 2 months following the completion of chemotherapy were randomized to receive once weekly true or sham acupuncture for 6 weeks. Fatigue was evaluated before and after treatment using the Brief Fatigue Inventory (BFI, the primary endpoint). Secondary endpoints included the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and Functional Assessment of Cancer Treatment-General (FACT-G) scores.

Results

One hundred one patients were randomized with 74 (34 true acupuncture; 40 sham control) evaluated for the primary endpoint. BFI scores fell by about one point between baseline and follow-up in both groups with no statistically significant difference between groups. HADS and FACT-G scores also improved in both groups, but there was no significant difference between groups. Patients in the sham acupuncture group crossed over to receive true acupuncture in week 7. No long-term reduction of fatigue scores was observed at the 6-month evaluation.

Conclusions

True acupuncture as provided in this study did not reduce post-chemotherapy chronic fatigue more than did sham acupuncture. The study is limited by the number of patients lost to follow-up. We also cannot exclude the possibility that a more intensive treatment regimen may be more effective.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Aylard PR, Gooding JH, McKenna PJ, Snaith RP (1987) A validation study of three anxiety and depression self-assessment scales. J Psychosom Res 31:261–268

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Balk J, Day R, Rosenzweig M, Beriwal S (2009) Pilot, randomized, modified, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of acupuncture for cancer-related fatigue. J Soc Integr Oncol 7:4–11

    Google Scholar 

  3. Bower JE, Ganz PA, Desmond KA, Rowland JH, Meyerowitz BE, Belin TR (2000) Fatigue in breast cancer survivors: occurrence, correlates, and impact on quality of life. J Clin Oncol 18:743–753

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Butt Z, Rosenbloom SK, Abernethy AP, Beaumont JL, Paul D, Hampton D, Jacobsen PB, Syrjala KL, Von Roenn JH, Cella D (2008) Fatigue is the most important symptom for advanced cancer patients who have had chemotherapy. J Natl Compr Canc Netw 6:448–455

    Google Scholar 

  5. Campos MP, Hassan BJ, Riechelmann R, Del Giglio A (2011) Cancer-related fatigue: a practical review. Ann Oncol 22:1273–1279

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Cella DF, Tulsky DS, Gray G, Sarafian B, Linn E, Bonomi A, Silberman M, Yellen SB, Winicour P, Brannon J et al (1993) The Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy scale: development and validation of the general measure. J Clin Oncol 11:570–579

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Goldstein D, Bennett BK, Webber K, Boyle F, de Souza PL, Wilcken NR, Scott EM, Toppler R, Murie P, O’Malley L, McCourt J, Friedlander M, Hickie IB, Lloyd AR (2012) Cancer-related fatigue in women with breast cancer: outcomes of a 5-year prospective cohort study. J Clin Oncol

  8. Iop A, Manfredi AM, Bonura S (2004) Fatigue in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy: an analysis of published studies. Ann Oncol 15:712–720

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Johnston MF, Hays RD, Subramanian SK, Elashoff RM, Axe EK, Li JJ, Kim I, Vargas RB, Lee J, Yang L, Hui KK (2011) Patient education integrated with acupuncture for relief of cancer-related fatigue randomized controlled feasibility study. BMC Complement Altern Med 11:49

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Kaptchuk TJ, Stason WB, Davis RB, Legedza AR, Schnyer RN, Kerr CE, Stone DA, Nam BH, Kirsch I, Goldman RH (2006) Sham device v inert pill: randomised controlled trial of two placebo treatments. BMJ 332:391–397

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Kleinhenz J, Streitberger K, Windeler J, Gussbacher A, Mavridis G, Martin E (1999) Randomised clinical trial comparing the effects of acupuncture and a newly designed placebo needle in rotator cuff tendinitis. Pain 83:235–241

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Mao JJ, Styles T, Cheville A, Wolf J, Fernandes S, Farrar JT (2009) Acupuncture for nonpalliative radiation therapy-related fatigue: feasibility study. J Soc Integr Oncol 7:52–58

    Google Scholar 

  13. Meeske K, Smith AW, Alfano CM, McGregor BA, McTiernan A, Baumgartner KB, Malone KE, Reeve BB, Ballard-Barbash R, Bernstein L (2007) Fatigue in breast cancer survivors two to five years post diagnosis: a HEAL study report. Qual Life Res 16:947–960

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Mendoza TR, Wang XS, Cleeland CS, Morrissey M, Johnson BA, Wendt JK, Huber SL (1999) The rapid assessment of fatigue severity in cancer patients: use of the Brief Fatigue Inventory. Cancer 85:1186–1196

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Mock V, Atkinson A, Barsevick A, Cella D, Cimprich B, Cleeland C, Donnelly J, Eisenberger MA, Escalante C, Hinds P, Jacobsen PB, Kaldor P, Knight SJ, Peterman A, Piper BF, Rugo H, Sabbatini P, Stahl C (2000) NCCN Practice guidelines for cancer-related fatigue. Oncology (Williston Park) 14:151–161

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Molassiotis A, Sylt P, Diggins H (2007) The management of cancer-related fatigue after chemotherapy with acupuncture and acupressure: a randomised controlled trial. Complement Ther Med 15:228–237

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Streitberger K, Kleinhenz J (1998) Introducing a placebo needle into acupuncture research. Lancet 352:364–365

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Vainio A, Auvinen A (1996) Prevalence of symptoms among patients with advanced cancer: an international collaborative study. Symptom Prevalence Group. J Pain Symptom Manage 12:3–10

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Vickers AJ, Straus DJ, Fearon B, Cassileth BR (2004) Acupuncture for postchemotherapy fatigue: a phase II study. J Clin Oncol 22:1731–1735

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Carrie Trevisan, Kristofer Prepelica, James Lozada, Marci Coleton, Gria Jacobs, Maria Kryza, and Ingrid Haviland for their assistance in the conduct of the study and the preparation of the manuscript.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Integrative Medicine Service, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 1429 First Avenue, New York, NY, 10021, USA

    Gary Deng, Yi Chan, K. Simon Yeung & Barrie Cassileth

  2. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, 10021, USA

    Daniel Sjoberg & Andrew Vickers

  3. Thoracic Oncology Service, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, 10021, USA

    Mark Kris

  4. Lymphoma Service, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, 10021, USA

    David Straus

Authors
  1. Gary Deng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Yi Chan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Daniel Sjoberg
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Andrew Vickers
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. K. Simon Yeung
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Mark Kris
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. David Straus
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Barrie Cassileth
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gary Deng.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Deng, G., Chan, Y., Sjoberg, D. et al. Acupuncture for the treatment of post-chemotherapy chronic fatigue: a randomized, blinded, sham-controlled trial. Support Care Cancer 21, 1735–1741 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-013-1720-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-013-1720-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation