Evidence map›Paper›PMID 21468626›Full record

Trial reportSupportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer2012

Acupuncture improves health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) and sleep in women with breast cancer and hot flushes.

Jessica Frisk, Ann-Christine Källström, Najme Wall, Mats Fredrikson, Mats Hammar

Abstract readMulticenter StudyRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 42 papers, 18 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
42citing papers in PubMed, 18 pooled it
25.3field-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

42 citing papers in PubMed, 18 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 83 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  7. Effects of non-pharmacological supportive care for hot flushes in breast cancer: a meta-analysis.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2017
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  9. Guideline
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  11. Acupuncture for treating hot flashes in breast cancer patients: an updated meta-analysis.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2016
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  15. Guideline
  16. Acupuncture for menopausal hot flushes.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2013
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  17. Systematic review of acupuncture in cancer care: a synthesis of the evidence.Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology · 2013
    Pooled it
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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

5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Jessica FriskObstetrics and Gynaecology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Linköping University, University Hospital, 581 85 Linköping, Sweden. Jessica.frisk@liu.se
Ann-Christine Källström
Najme Wall
Mats Fredrikson
Mats Hammar
Linköping University · SELinköping University Hospital · SE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeEvaluate effects of electro-acupuncture (EA) and hormone therapy (HT) on health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) and sleep in breast cancer survivors with vasomotor symptoms.

methodsForty-five women, randomized to EA (n = 27) for 12 weeks or HT (n = 18) for 24 months, were followed for up to 2 years. Distress caused by, and numbers of, hot flushes, hours slept and times woken up/night, Psychological and General Well-being Index (PGWB) and Women's Health Questionnaire (WHQ) were registered before and during treatment and at 6, 9, 12, 18 and 24 months after start of treatment.

resultsAfter 12 weeks of EA (n = 19), WHQ improved from 0.32 (IQR 0.23-0.53) at baseline to 0.24 (IQR 0.12-0.39; p < 0.001) and PGWB from 78 (IQR 53-89) to 79 (IQR 68-93; p = 0.002). All sleep parameters improved and Hot Flush Score (HFS) decreased by 80%. At 12 months, WHQ, PGWB and all sleep parameters remained significantly improved (n = 14) and HFS decreased by 65%. After 12 weeks of HT (n = 18), WHQ improved from 0.29 (IQR 0.15-0.44) at baseline to 0.15 (IQR 0.05-0.22; p = 0.001), PGWB from 75 (IQR 59-88) to 90 (62-97; p = 0.102) and three of five sleep parameters improved.

conclusionBoth EA and HT increased HRQoL and sleep, probably through decreasing numbers of and distress by hot flushes. Although flushes decreased less in the EA group than in the HT group, HRQoL improved at least to the same extent maybe due to other effects of EA, not induced by HT, e.g. on anxiety, vitality and sleep, supported by subscale analyses. EA should be further evaluated as treatment for women with breast cancer and climacteric complaints, since HT no longer can be recommended for these women.

Indexed as

AdultAgedBreast NeoplasmsElectroacupunctureEstrogen Replacement TherapyFemaleHot FlashesHumansMiddle AgedProspective StudiesQuality of LifeSleep Wake DisordersSurveys and Questionnaires

Identifiers

PMID21468626
OpenAlexW2147026645

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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.