ReviewEvidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM2020
Effectiveness and Safety of Acupuncture Moxibustion Therapy Used in Breast Cancer-Related Lymphedema: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Review in Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 2 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
7 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 11 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effect of eight different acupuncture and moxibustion therapies on breast cancer-related lymphedema: a Bayesian network meta-analysis.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of Acupuncture and Moxibustion on Breast Cancer-Related Lymphedema: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Integrative cancer therapiesPooled it
- Acupuncture and Acupressure for Cancer Symptom Management: an Opinion Statement Based on Preliminary Evidence Mapping.Current treatment options in oncology · 2026Review
- The promising application of acupressure for management of cancer-related lymphedema: A scoping review.Asia-Pacific journal of oncology nursing · 2025Review
- Quality of evidence supporting the role of acupuncture for breast cancer-related lymphoedema: an overview of systematic reviews and meta-analyses.Journal of cancer research and clinical oncology · 2023Review
- The efficacy and safety of acupuncture and moxibustion for breast cancer lymphedema: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.Gland surgery · 2023Article
- Electroacupuncture Improves Cognitive Function in Senescence-Accelerated P8 (SAMP8) Mice via the NLRP3/Caspase-1 Pathway.Neural plasticity · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo evaluate the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture moxibustion therapy (AMT) for the breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL).
methodsFour English databases (MEDLINE, PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane CENTRAL) and four Chinese databases were searched from their inception to Feb 1, 2020. Eligible randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating AMT against any type of controlled intervention in patients for BCRL and assessing clinically relevant outcomes (total effective rate, circumference difference, and Karnofsky performance score) were included. The methodological quality of all selected trials was estimated in accordance with the guidelines published by the Cochrane Collaboration. Review Manager 5.3 was used to conduct analyses.
resultsTwelve eligible RCTs are confirmed. Most of the trials selected are regarded as low methodological quality. Compared with Western medicine, physiotherapy, and functional training, traditional AMT has significantly higher treatment effect (RR 1.03 (95% CI: 1.22, 1.45);
conclusionThis systematic review and meta-analysis provides evidence that AMT is serviceable and safe in treating BCRL. With the limited number of available studies and methodology drawbacks, further high-quality RCTs with reasonable designs are still warranted.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.