Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37256179›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in oncology2023

Acupuncture for cancer pain: a scoping review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses.

Yanji Zhang, Yingrong Zhang, Suzhen Liu, Bocun Li, Zhe Song, Qi Han, Chang Wang, Yiwei Wang, Yanxin Yu, Hongjie Xia and 2 more

Open access · goldAbstract readScoping Review
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in oncology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
4.0field-weighted citation impact, top 7% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 10 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Article
  5. Review
  6. Article
  7. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Yanji ZhangCollege of Acupuncture and Orthopedics, Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
Yingrong ZhangCollege of Acupuncture and Orthopedics, Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
Suzhen LiuCollege of Acupuncture and Orthopedics, Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
Bocun LiCollege of Acupuncture and Orthopedics, Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
Zhe SongSchool of Biomedical Engineering and Imaging, Hubei University of Science and Technology, Xianning, Hubei, China.
Qi HanXianning Central Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital of Hubei University of Science and Technology, Xianning, Hubei, China.
Chang WangSchool of Biomedical Engineering and Imaging, Hubei University of Science and Technology, Xianning, Hubei, China.
Yiwei WangCollege of Acupuncture and Orthopedics, Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
Yanxin YuCollege of Acupuncture and Orthopedics, Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
Hongjie XiaCollege of Acupuncture and Orthopedics, Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
Chun WangCollege of Acupuncture and Orthopedics, Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
Jia LiCollege of Acupuncture and Orthopedics, Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
Hubei University of Chinese Medicine · CNHubei University of Science and Technology · CNXianning Central Hospital · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Due to the effectiveness and safety, acupuncture, one of the traditional therapies of Chinese medicine, has been widely used in clinical practice globally. A few systematic review or meta-analyses have proved its effectiveness and safety towards patients with cancer pain, while there are no syntheses among those evidence. The aim of this scoping review is to summarize the evidence from systematic reviews of acupuncture for the treatment of cancer pain and evaluate the breadth and methodological quality of these evidence as well. Methods: The scoping review process was guided by the methodology framework of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for scoping reviews (PRISMA ScR) and "Arkseyand O'Malley six-stage framework". Electronic searches were carried out in several online databases from inception to Jan 2022. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses that involve any type of acupuncture for patients with cancer pain will be included. A pair of reviewers independently screened full texts. Moreover, review characteristics were extracted, and methodological quality was assessed using the AMSTAR 2 tool. Results: Twenty-five systematic reviews and meta-analyses were included. Manual acupuncture is the most frequently included types of test group intervention (48%), followed by acupuncture + medicine (28%), and auricular acupuncture (12%). All the reviews have declared that acupuncture is an effective method for cancer pain treatment. Eleven reviews (44%) aiming at evaluating the safety also have confirmed that acupuncture is safe for treating cancer pain. However, most included studies were conducted in China. With certain geographical limitations, the findings were not representative within the region. The results of our review may owe to the synthesis of all kinds of cancer pain, and only 2 reviews described the type of cancer pain in detail. Conclusions: This scoping review synthesizes and evaluates existing evidence of acupuncture for cancer pain. From this scoping review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses, there are clear recommendations for future studies: expanding the region of research in the world and trying to conduct the study of different types of cancer pain in details as much as possible. Evidences of acupuncture for cancer pain can inform clinical decision-making. Systematic review registration: https://inplasy.com/inplasy-2022-1-0073/, identifier INPLASY202210073.

Indexed as

Systematic Reviews as Topicacupuncturealternative medicine (AM)cancer painscoping reviewsystematic reviews and meta-analyses

Identifiers

PMID37256179
PMCPMC10226720
OpenAlexW4378782116

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.