Acupuncture and integrative oncology for taxane-induced peripheral neuropathy: a randomized multicentered study.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

To compare the effectiveness of acupuncture alone or with additional integrative oncology modalities for taxane-induced peripheral neuropathy-related symptoms in patients with gynecological and breast cancer.

METHODS:

The study was a prospective evaluation of patients undergoing twice-weekly treatments with either acupuncture alone (single-modality, group A) or with additional manual-movement and mind-body therapies (multimodality, group B), for 6 weeks. Symptom severity was assessed at baseline, 6 weeks, and 9 weeks using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Taxane (FACT-Tax) tool; and von Frey perception thresholds. Additional symptoms were also assessed with the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30) and the Measure Yourself Concerns and Wellbeing (MYCaW) study tool.

RESULTS:

For the 120 participants (60 in each study arm), baseline to 6-week scores were similar in both groups for improved FACT-Tax physical wellbeing and scores for hand numbness/tingling; EORTC physical functioning and global health status; and MYCaW scores. FACT-Tax taxane subscales and scores for foot numbness/tingling improved only in group A (p=0.038), while emotional wellbeing FACT-Tax (p=0.02) and EORTC pain (p=0.005) improved only in group B. Group B showed greater improvement for FACT-Tax neuropathy-related concerns than group A at 24 hours (p=0.043) and 7 days (p=0.009) after the first treatment.

CONCLUSION:

Acupuncture alone or with additional integrative oncology modalities may help reduce neuropathy-related symptoms. The single-modality group demonstrated greater improvement for foot numbness/tingling, and the multimodality group demonstrated improvement for pain and improved emotional wellbeing and neuropathy-related concerns in the first week of treatment.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER:

NCT03290976.

• Authors: Eran Ben-Arye, Dorit Gamus, Noah Samuels, Elad Schiff, David Hausner, Orit Gressel, Samuel Attias, Ofer Lavie, Adi David, Katerina Shulman, Abed Agbarya
• Journal: International journal of gynecological cancer : official journal of the International Gynecological Cancer Society (Int J Gynecol Cancer) Vol. 33 Issue 5 Pg. 792-801 (05 01 2023) ISSN: 1525-1438 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 36600535 (Publication Type: Randomized Controlled Trial, Multicenter Study, Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
• Copyright: © IGCS and ESGO 2023. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.

Chemical References

• taxane
• Taxoids

Topics

• Humans
• Integrative Oncology
• Quality of Life (psychology)
• Hypesthesia
• Acupuncture Therapy
• Peripheral Nervous System Diseases (chemically induced)
• Taxoids (adverse effects)
• Pain
• Surveys and Questionnaires