Trial reportSupportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer2017
Acupuncture for cancer-related fatigue in lung cancer patients: a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled pilot trial.
Trial report in Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 42 papers, 9 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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
42 citing papers in PubMed, 9 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 66 citations in OpenAlex.
- Comparative efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine-based non-pharmacological therapies for managing cancer-related fatigue in lung cancer patients: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026Pooled it
- Acupuncture as treatment of cancer-therapy induced fatigue: a critical systematic review with a focus on the methodological assessment of blinding.Journal of cancer research and clinical oncology · 2026Pooled it
- Efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine external therapy on cancer-related fatigue: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Pooled it
- Effectiveness of acupuncture for cancer-related fatigue: a systematic reviews and meta-analysis.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Pooled it
- Comparison of Single Versus Multiple Nonpharmacological Interventions for the Management of Lung Cancer-Related Fatigue: A Systematic Review.The clinical respiratory journal · 2025Pooled it
- Acupuncture therapies for cancer-related fatigue: A Bayesian network meta-analysis and systematic review.Frontiers in oncology · 2023Pooled it
- Acupuncture for adult lung cancer of patient-reported outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in oncology · 2022Pooled it
- The efficacy of placebo for the treatment of cancer-related fatigue: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2020Pooled it
- The Effects of Acupuncture on Cancer-Related Fatigue: Updated Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Integrative cancer therapiesPooled it
- Acupuncture vs. sham acupuncture for cancer-related fatigue in patients with breast cancer: a double-center, randomized, single-blind pilot study.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2026Trial
- Laser acupuncture improves post-dialysis fatigue and sleep quality independent of time-varying dialysis and depression symptoms: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2025Trial
- Electroacupuncture for the management of symptom clusters in cancer patients and survivors (EAST).BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2023Trial
- A Prognostic Model for the Respiratory Function of Patients with Nonsevere Pulmonary Infection Based on Breathing Exercises and Acupuncture Therapy: Development and Validation.Computational and mathematical methods in medicine · 2022Trial
- Survivorship Challenges and Supportive Care in Lung Cancer.Seminars in respiratory and critical care medicine · 2025Review
- Acupuncture and moxibustion in integrative oncology and new progress in China.Integrative medicine research · 2025Review
- Localization of brain networks activated by acupuncture at anatomically adjacent acupoints in healthy participants: neuroimaging evidence and implications for migraine and stroke.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2025Article
- Prior acupuncture experience among elderly participants enrolled in a clinical trial of acupuncture for chronic low back pain: Implications for future trials.Integrative medicine research · 2024Article
- Review
- Electro-acupuncture for health-related quality of life and symptoms in patients with gastric cancer undergoing adjuvant chemotherapy (EAGER): a protocol for a multicenter randomized controlled trial.Health and quality of life outcomes · 2023Article
- Research progress on the immunomodulatory mechanism of acupuncture in tumor immune microenvironment.Frontiers in immunology · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundCancer-related fatigue (CRF) is a distressing symptom that is the most common unpleasant side effect experienced by lung cancer patients and is challenging for clinical care workers to manage.
methodsWe performed a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot trial to evaluate the clinical effect of acupuncture on CRF in lung cancer patients. Twenty-eight patients presenting with CRF were randomly assigned to active acupuncture or placebo acupuncture groups to receive acupoint stimulation (LI-4, Ren-6, St-36, KI-3, and Sp-6) twice per week for 4 weeks, followed by 2 weeks of follow-up. The primary outcome was the change in intensity of CFR based on the Chinese version of the Brief Fatigue Inventory (BFI-C). As the secondary endpoint, the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Lung Cancer Subscale (FACT-LCS) was adopted to assess the influence of acupuncture on patients' quality of life (QOL). Adverse events and safety of treatments were monitored throughout the trial.
resultsOur pilot study demonstrated feasibility among patients with appropriate inclusion criteria and good compliance with acupuncture treatment. A significant reduction in the BFI-C score was observed at 2 weeks in the 14 participants who received active acupuncture compared with those receiving the placebo (P < 0.01). At week 6, symptoms further improved according to the BFI-C (P < 0.001) and the FACT-LCS (P = 0.002). There were no significant differences in the incidence of adverse events in either group (P > 0.05).
conclusionFatigue is a common symptom experienced by lung cancer patients. Acupuncture may be a safe and feasible optional method for adjunctive treatment in cancer palliative care, and appropriately powered trials are warranted to evaluate the effects of acupuncture.
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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.