Trial reportJournal of the National Cancer Institute2019
Acupuncture Versus Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia in Cancer Survivors: A Randomized Clinical Trial.
Trial report in Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 100 papers, 21 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
100 citing papers in PubMed, 21 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 183 citations in OpenAlex.
- Comparative Effects of Various Delivery Methods of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia Among Patients With Cancers: Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis.Psycho-oncology · 2026Pooled it
- Efficacy and influencing factors of acupuncture in major depressive disorder: a systematic review and exploratory network meta-analysis.CNS spectrums · 2026Pooled it
- Effects of different intervention modalities combined with exercise in patients with insomnia: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2026Pooled it
- Lifestyle intervention to improve sleep quality in Chinese college students: a systematic review.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
- Interventions for managing clinically relevant sleep disturbances or insomnia in cancer patients and survivors: an up-to-date systematic review and meta-analysis of self-reported sleep disturbance.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Pooled it
- Complementary and Alternative Treatment for the Management of Insomnia among Patients with Cancer: A Systematic Review.Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention : APJCP · 2025Pooled it
- Comparative efficacy of interventions for insomnia in cancer patients: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.Sleep & breathing = Schlaf & Atmung · 2025Pooled it
- Mapping the research landscape of traditional Chinese medicine in insomnia management: a bibliometric study (2005-2024).Frontiers in neurology · 2025Pooled it
- Interventions for insomnia in cancer patients and survivors-a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis.JNCI cancer spectrum · 2024Pooled it
- Efficacy of non-pharmacological interventions on sleep quality in patients with cancer-related insomnia: a network meta-analysis.Frontiers in neurology · 2024Pooled it
- Acupuncture combined with Chinese herbs versus Chinese herbs alone to improve the clinical efficacy of uterine fibroids: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in oncology · 2024Pooled it
- Effect of invasive acupuncture on awakening quality after general anesthesia: systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in medicine · 2024Pooled it
- Representation of race and ethnicity among cancer survivors in trials of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I): A systematic review.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2023Pooled it
- Acupuncture therapies for cancer-related fatigue: A Bayesian network meta-analysis and systematic review.Frontiers in oncology · 2023Pooled it
- Cognitive behavioral therapy for anxiety and depression in cancer survivors: a meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2022Pooled it
- Can improving quality of sleep reduce the symptoms of cancer-related fatigue in adults?: A systematic review.European journal of cancer care · 2022Pooled it
- Association of Acupuncture and Auricular Acupressure With the Improvement of Sleep Disturbances in Cancer Survivors: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in oncology · 2022Pooled it
- The clinical efficacy and safety of acupuncture intervention on cancer-related insomnia: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2022Pooled it
- Acupuncture as a Complementary Therapy for Cancer-Induced Bone Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland) · 2022Pooled it
- Improving sleep quality leads to better mental health: A meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.Sleep medicine reviews · 2021Pooled it
40 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundInsomnia is a common and debilitating disorder experienced by cancer survivors. Although cancer survivors express a preference for using nonpharmacological treatment to manage insomnia, the comparative effectiveness between acupuncture and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) for this disorder is unknown.
methodsThis randomized trial compared 8 weeks of acupuncture (n = 80) and CBT-I (n = 80) in cancer survivors. Acupuncture involved stimulating specific points on the body with needles. CBT-I included sleep restriction, stimulus control, cognitive restructuring, relaxation training, and education. We measured insomnia severity (primary outcome), pain, fatigue, mood, and quality of life posttreatment (8 weeks) with follow-up until 20 weeks. We used linear mixed-effects models for analyses. All statistical tests were two-sided.
resultsThe mean age was 61.5 years and 56.9% were women. CBT-I was more effective than acupuncture posttreatment (P < .001); however, both acupuncture and CBT-I produced clinically meaningful reductions in insomnia severity (acupuncture: -8.31 points, 95% confidence interval = -9.36 to -7.26; CBT-I: -10.91 points, 95% confidence interval = -11.97 to -9.85) and maintained improvements up to 20 weeks. Acupuncture was more effective for pain at the end of treatment; both groups had similar improvements in fatigue, mood, and quality of life and reduced prescription hypnotic medication use. CBT-I was more effective for those who were male (P < .001), white (P = .003), highly educated (P < .001), and had no pain at baseline (P < .001).
conclusionsAlthough both treatments produced meaningful and durable improvements, CBT-I was more effective and should be the first line of therapy. The relative differences in the comparative effectiveness between the two interventions for specific groups should be confirmed in future adequately powered trials to guide more tailored interventions for insomnia.
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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.