Evidence map›Paper›PMID 23393007›Full record

Trial reportBreast cancer research and treatment2013

A dual-center randomized controlled double blind trial assessing the effect of acupuncture in reducing musculoskeletal symptoms in breast cancer patients taking aromatase inhibitors.

Ting Bao, Ling Cai, Jon T Giles, Jeff Gould, Karineh Tarpinian, Kelly Betts, Michelle Medeiros, Stacie Jeter, Nancy Tait, Saranya Chumsri and 7 more

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Breast cancer research and treatment, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 44 papers, 15 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
44citing papers in PubMed, 15 pooled it
5.0field-weighted citation impact, top 4% 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

44 citing papers in PubMed, 15 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 88 citations in OpenAlex.

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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

17 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.

Ting BaoUniversity of Maryland Greenebaum Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD 20201, USA. tbao@umm.edu
Ling Cai
Jon T Giles
Jeff Gould
Karineh Tarpinian
Kelly Betts
Michelle Medeiros
Stacie Jeter
Nancy Tait
Saranya Chumsri
Deborah K Armstrong
Ming Tan
Elizabeth Folkerd
Mitch Dowsett
Harvinder Singh
Kate Tkaczuk
Vered Stearns
University of Maryland, Baltimore · USJohns Hopkins University · USRoyal Marsden Hospital · GBColumbia University · US

Funding

UMGCC Paul Calabresi Clinical Oncology Training ProgramK12CA126849 · NCI · UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND BALTIMORE · PI SAUSVILLE, EDWARD A. · 2008 to 2013
$4.0M
Acupuncture to Prevent Chemotherapy Dose ReductionR21CA173263 · NCI · UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND BALTIMORE · PI BAO, TING · 2013 to 2014
$349k
Breast Cancer Now BREAST CANCER NOW RESEARCH CENTRENCI NIH HHS K12 CA126849NCI NIH HHS K12 CA126849 ANCI NIH HHS R21 CA173263
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Up to 50 % of women receiving aromatase inhibitor (AI) complain of AI-associated musculoskeletal symptoms (AIMSS) and 15 % discontinue treatment. We conducted a randomized, sham-controlled trial to evaluate whether acupuncture improves AIMSS and to explore potential mechanisms. Postmenopausal women with early stage breast cancer, experiencing AIMSS were randomized to eight weekly real or sham acupuncture sessions. We evaluated changes in the Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index (HAQ-DI) and pain visual analog scale (VAS) following the intervention compared to baseline. Serum estradiol, β-endorphin, and proinflammatory cytokine concentrations were measured pre and post-intervention. We enrolled 51 women of whom 47 were evaluable, including 23 randomized to real and 24 to sham acupuncture. Baseline characteristics were balanced between groups with the exception of a higher HAQ-DI score in the real acupuncture group (p = 0.047). We did not observe a statistically significant difference in reduction of HAQ-DI (p = 0.30) or VAS (p = 0.31) between the two groups. Following eight weekly treatments, we observed a statistically significant reduction of IL-17 (p ≤ 0.009) in both groups. No significant modulation was seen in estradiol, β-endorphin, or other proinflammatory cytokine concentrations in either group. We did not observe a significant difference in AIMSS changes between real and sham acupuncture. As sham acupuncture used in this study may not be equivalent to placebo, further studies with a non-acupuncture arm may be required to establish whether acupuncture is beneficial for the treatment of AIMSS.

Indexed as

Acupuncture TherapyAdultAgedAged, 80 and overAntineoplastic Agents, HormonalAromatase Inhibitorsbeta-EndorphinBreast NeoplasmsFemaleHumansInflammation MediatorsMiddle AgedMusculoskeletal PainTime FactorsTreatment OutcomeAntineoplastic Agents, HormonalAromatase Inhibitorsbeta-EndorphinInflammation Mediators

Identifiers

PMID23393007
PMCPMC3594526
OpenAlexW2057428754

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.