Paley, C.A., Johnson, M.I., Tashani, O.A., & Bagnall, A.M. (2015). Acupuncture for cancer pain in adults. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 10, CD007753.
DOI Link
Purpose
STUDY PURPOSE: To evaluate acupuncture for relief of cancer-related pain in adults with updated evidence
TYPE OF STUDY: Systematic review
Search Strategy
DATABASES USED: CENTRAL, EMBASE, MEDLINE, AMED, SPORTDiscus, PsycINFO
INCLUSION CRITERIA: Evaluating any type of invasive acupuncture, Western or Chinese; randomized, controlled trial
EXCLUSION CRITERIA: Not specified
Literature Evaluated
TOTAL REFERENCES RETRIEVED: 568
EVALUATION METHOD AND COMMENTS ON LITERATURE USED: Cochrane risk of bias evaluation. None of the studies had adequate sample sizes and only one had adequate blinding.
Sample Characteristics
- FINAL NUMBER STUDIES INCLUDED: Five studies, three from a prior systematic review
- TOTAL PATIENTS INCLUDED IN REVIEW: 285
- SAMPLE RANGE ACROSS STUDIES: 21–90 patients
Phase of Care and Clinical Applications
PHASE OF CARE: Not specified or not applicable
Results
There was insufficient evidence to draw firm conclusions.
Conclusions
There is insufficient high-quality evidence in the area of acupuncture for cancer-related pain.
Limitations
- Limited number of studies included
- Mostly low quality/high risk of bias studies
- Low sample sizes
Nursing Implications
There is a current lack of evidence to appropriately evaluate the efficacy of any type of acupuncture for management of cancer-related pain.
Legacy ID
5838