ArticleNPJ breast cancer2021
Acupuncture versus cognitive behavioral therapy for pain among cancer survivors with insomnia: an exploratory analysis of a randomized clinical trial.
Article in NPJ breast cancer, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 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
18 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 29 citations in OpenAlex.
- Mapping the research landscape of traditional Chinese medicine in insomnia management: a bibliometric study (2005-2024).Frontiers in neurology · 2025Pooled 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 vs. Massage for Insomnia and Pain in Advanced Cancer: Exploratory RCT.Journal of pain and symptom management · 2026Trial
- COMT Val158Met Affects the Analgesic Response to Acupuncture Among Cancer Survivors With Chronic Pain.The journal of pain · 2023Trial
- Trial
- Acupuncture for chemotherapy-associated insomnia in breast cancer patients: an assessor-participant blinded, randomized, sham-controlled trial.Breast cancer research : BCR · 2023Trial
- The Effect of Dry Needling on Sleep Quality in Individuals With Musculoskeletal Pain Disorders.Pain research & management · 2026Review
- Acupuncture-related peripheral stimulation as a candidate neuromodulatory model of insomnia: clinical evidence, sleep-wake circuitry, and translational limits.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2026Review
- Acupuncture reduced incidence of insomnia symptoms in patients with lung cancer: a retrospective cohort study.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025Article
- Acupuncture versus cognitive behavioral therapy for anxiety among cancer survivors with insomnia: An exploratory analysis of a randomized clinical trial.Integrative medicine research · 2025Article
- Bibliometric and visual analysis of cancer-related insomnia research from 2015 to 2025.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025Review
- Traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of breast Cancer.Molecular cancer · 2025Review
- Acupuncture and moxibustion in integrative oncology and new progress in China.Integrative medicine research · 2025Review
- The impact of postoperative pain interventions on circadian rhythm disruptions: mechanisms and clinical implications.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2025Review
- Racial differences in treatment adherence and response to acupuncture and cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia among Black and White cancer survivors.Cancer medicine · 2024Article
- A randomized, controlled trial to investigate cognitive behavioral therapy in prevention and treatment of acute oral mucositis in patients with locoregional advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma undergoing chemoradiotherapy.Frontiers in oncology · 2023Article
- The therapeutic effect of Taijiquan combined with acupoint pressing on the treatment of anxiety insomnia in college students: A study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2022Article
- Tibetan Herbal Pain-Relieving Plaster for Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain Among Cancer Survivors: Study Protocol of a Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2022Article
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 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Pain and insomnia often co-occur and impair the quality of life in cancer survivors. This study evaluated the effect of acupuncture versus cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) on pain severity among cancer survivors with comorbid pain and insomnia. Using data from the CHOICE trial that compared acupuncture versus CBT-I for insomnia among cancer survivors, we analyzed the effect of interventions on pain outcomes in 70 patients with moderate to severe baseline pain. Interventions were delivered over eight weeks. We assessed average pain severity (primary outcome) and pain interference at baseline, week 8, and week 20. We further defined insomnia and pain responders as patients who achieved clinically meaningful improvement in insomnia and pain outcomes, respectively, at week 8. We found that compared with baseline, the between-group difference (-1.0, 95% CI -1.8 to -0.2) was statistically significant favoring acupuncture for reduced pain severity at week 8 (-1.4, 95% CI -2.0 to -0.8) relative to CBT-I (-0.4, 95% CI-1.0 to 0.2). Responder analysis showed that 1) with acupuncture, insomnia responders reported significantly greater pain reduction from baseline to week 4, compared with insomnia non-responders (-1.5, 95% CI -2.7 to -0.3); 2) with CBT-I, pain responders reported significantly greater insomnia reduction at week 8, compared with pain non-responders (-4.7, 95% CI -8.7 to -1.0). These findings suggest that among cancer survivors with comorbid pain and insomnia, acupuncture led to rapid pain reductions, which contributed to a decrease in insomnia, whereas CBT-I had a delayed effect on pain, possibly achieved by insomnia improvement.
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.