Evidence map›Paper›PMID 19679620›Full record

Trial reportIntegrative cancer therapies2009

Feasibility trial of electroacupuncture for aromatase inhibitor--related arthralgia in breast cancer survivors.

James J Mao, Deborah W Bruner, Carrie Stricker, John T Farrar, Sharon X Xie, Marjorie A Bowman, Donna Pucci, Xiaoyan Han, Angela DeMichele

Open access · goldAbstract readClinical Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Integrative cancer therapies, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 32 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
32citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
17.7field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

32 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 56 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. The effectiveness of electroacupuncture in the treatment of cancer-related fatigue: a systematic review.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026
    Pooled it
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  6. Trial
  7. Expectancy in real and sham electroacupuncture: does believing make it so?Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Monographs · 2014
    Trial
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  9. Phase II study of glucosamine with chondroitin on aromatase inhibitor-associated joint symptoms in women with breast cancer.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2013
    Trial
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  11. Review
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  17. Joint pain and falls among women with breast cancer on aromatase inhibitors.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2019
    Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

James J MaoDepartment of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Pennsylvania Health System, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA. jun.mao@uphs.upenn.edu
Deborah W Bruner
Carrie Stricker
John T Farrar
Sharon X Xie
Marjorie A Bowman
Donna Pucci
Xiaoyan Han
Angela DeMichele
University of Pennsylvania Health System · US

Funding

Elucidating the placebo effects of acupuncture: hot flashes as a clinical modelK23AT004112 · NCCIH · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA · PI MAO, JUN J · 2008 to 2012
$659k
NCCIH NIH HHS 1 K23 AT004112NCCIH NIH HHS K23 AT004112
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundArthralgia affects postmenopausal women receiving aromatase inhibitors (AIs) for breast cancer. Given the existing evidence for electroacupuncture (EA) for treatment of osteoarthritis in the general population, this study aims to establish the feasibility of studying EA for treating AI-related arthralgia. PATIENTS AND

methodsPostmenopausal women with stage I-III breast cancer who reported AI-related arthralgia were enrolled in a single-arm feasibility trial. EA was provided twice a week for 2 weeks followed by 6 weekly treatments. The protocol was based on Chinese medicine diagnosis of "Bi" syndrome with electrostimulation of needles around the painful joint(s). Pain severity of the modified Brief Pain Inventory was used as the primary outcome. Joint stiffness, joint interference, and Patient Global Impression of Change (PGIC) were secondary outcomes. Paired t tests were used for analysis.

resultsTwelve women were enrolled and all provided data for analysis. From baseline to the end of intervention, patients reported reduction in pain severity (from 5.3 to 1.9), stiffness (from 6.9 to 2.4), and joint symptom interference (from 4.7 to 0.8), all P < .001; 11/12 considered joint symptoms "very much better" based on the PGIC. Subjects also reported significant decrease in fatigue (from 4.4 to 1.9, P = .005) and anxiety (from 7.1 to 4.8, P = .01). No infection or development or worsening of lymphedema was observed.

conclusionPreliminary data establish the feasibility of recruitment and acceptance as well as promising preliminary safety and effectiveness. A randomized controlled trial is warranted to establish the efficacy of EA for AI-related arthralgia in breast cancer survivors.

Indexed as

SurvivorsAgedAnxietyAromatase InhibitorsArthralgiaBreast NeoplasmsDepressionDyssomniasElectroacupunctureFatigueFeasibility StudiesFemaleHumansMiddle AgedRange of Motion, ArticularTreatment OutcomeAromatase Inhibitors

Identifiers

PMID19679620
PMCPMC3569528
OpenAlexW1971970689

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.