Trial reportCancer2014
Patient-reported outcomes in women with breast cancer enrolled in a dual-center, double-blind, randomized controlled trial assessing the effect of acupuncture in reducing aromatase inhibitor-induced musculoskeletal symptoms.
Trial report in Cancer, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 39 papers, 20 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
39 citing papers in PubMed, 20 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 63 citations in OpenAlex.
- How effective is acupuncture in treating hot flashes in breast cancer patients? A systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in oncology · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of acupuncture on improving sleep quality and the risk of emotional maladjustment of breast cancer patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in oncology · 2025Pooled it
- Acupuncture for systemic therapy-associated insomnia in patients with breast cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in oncology · 2025Pooled it
- Acupuncture therapy for radiotherapy-induced adverse effect: A systematic review and network meta-analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2022Pooled it
- Effects of Acupuncture on Breast Cancer Patients Taking Aromatase Inhibitors.BioMed research international · 2022Pooled it
- Acupuncture Improves Multiple Treatment-Related Symptoms in Breast Cancer Survivors: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.) · 2021Pooled it
- Acupuncture for Breast Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Patient-Reported Outcomes.Frontiers in oncology · 2021Pooled it
- Physical Therapies for Psychosomatic Symptoms and Quality of Life Induced by Aromatase Inhibitors in Breast Cancer Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in oncology · 2021Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Comparing Interventions for Management of Hot Flashes in Patients With Breast and Prostate Cancer: A Systematic Review With Meta-Analyses.Oncology nursing forum · 2020Pooled it
- 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 · 2017Pooled it
- Clinical practice guidelines on the evidence-based use of integrative therapies during and after breast cancer treatment.CA: a cancer journal for clinicians · 2017Guideline
- Effect of acupuncture on hot flush and menopause symptoms in breast cancer- A systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2017Pooled it
- 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 · 2016Pooled it
- Effectiveness of Traditional Chinese Acupuncture versus Sham Acupuncture: a Systematic Review.Revista latino-americana de enfermagem · 2016Pooled it
- Informing hot flash treatment decisions for breast cancer survivors: a systematic review of randomized trials comparing active interventions.Breast cancer research and treatment · 2016Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Acupuncture for symptom management in cancer care: an update.Current oncology reports · 2014Pooled it
- Clinical practice guidelines on the use of integrative therapies as supportive care in patients treated for breast cancer.Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Monographs · 2014Guideline
- Chinese Medicines Treatment for Sleep Disturbance in Breast Cancer Survivors: A Network Meta-Analysis.Integrative cancer therapiesPooled it
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
14 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundAromatase inhibitors (AIs) have been associated with decrements in patient-reported outcomes (PROs). The objective of this study was to assess whether real acupuncture (RA), compared with sham acupuncture (SA), improves PROs in patients with breast cancer who are receiving an adjuvant AI.
methodsPostmenopausal women with a stage 0 through III breast cancer who received an AI and had treatment-associated musculoskeletal symptoms were randomized to receive 8 weekly RA versus SA in a dual-center, randomized controlled trial. The National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) menopausal symptoms questionnaire, the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression (CESD) scale, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the hot flash daily diary, the Hot Flash-Related Daily Interference Scale (HFRDI), and the European quality-of-life survey (EuroQol) were used to assess PROs at baseline and at 4weeks, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks.
resultsThe intention-to-treat analysis included 23 patients in the RA arm and 24 patients in the SA arm. There were no significant differences in baseline characteristics between the 2 groups. Compared with baseline, scores in the RA arm improved significantly at week 8 on the CESD (P = .022), hot flash severity (P = .006), hot flash frequency (P = .011), the HFRDI (P = .014), and NSABP menopausal symptoms (P = .022); scores in the SA arm improved significantly on the EuroQol (P = .022),the HFRDI (P = .043), and NSABP menopausal symptoms (P = .005). Post-hoc analysis indicated that African American patients (n = 9) benefited more from RA than SA compared with non-African American patients (n = 38) in reducing hot flash severity (P < .001) and frequency (P < .001) scores.
conclusionsBoth RA and SA were associated with improvement in PROs among patients with breast cancer who were receiving AIs, and no significant difference was detected between arms. Racial differences in response to acupuncture warrant further study.
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Registered trials
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.