SynthesisFrontiers in oncology2023
Acupuncture for postoperative gastrointestinal dysfunction in cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis 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 12 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
12 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 18 citations in OpenAlex.
- Efficacy of Acupuncture in Postoperative Recovery for Gastrointestinal Tumors: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Chinese journal of integrative medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Acupuncture and moxibustion as adjunctive therapy for postoperative gastrointestinal dysfunction in gastric cancer: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.Frontiers in medicine · 2024Pooled it
- Randomized Trial on Electroacupuncture for Recovery of Postoperative Gastrointestinal Function Based on Long-Term Monitoring Device.Annals of surgical oncology · 2025Trial
- Article
- Acupuncture regulating the gut-brain axis for postoperative ileus: Neuroimmune mechanisms and clinical translation prospects.World journal of gastrointestinal surgery · 2026Article
- Acupuncture and Acupressure for Cancer Symptom Management: an Opinion Statement Based on Preliminary Evidence Mapping.Current treatment options in oncology · 2026Review
- Bridging Traditions: Integrating TCM Into ERAS for Enhanced Gastrointestinal Recovery -A Scoping Review.Drug design, development and therapy · 2026Article
- The mechanism of Akkermansia muciniphila inhibiting the proliferation of colorectal cancer cells via ferroptosis.Clinical & translational oncology : official publication of the Federation of Spanish Oncology Societies and of the National Cancer Institute of Mexico · 2026Article
- Article
- Effects of gastrointestinal motility therapy combined with acupuncture on gastrointestinal function in patients after laparoscopic radical surgery.World journal of gastrointestinal surgery · 2025Article
- Electroacupuncture of ST36 and PC6 for postoperative gastrointestinal recovery: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of traditional and complementary medicine · 2024Article
- Acupuncture in cancer care: a narrative review.Revista da Associacao Medica Brasileira (1992) · 2024Review
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 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Postoperative gastrointestinal dysfunction (PGD) in cancer is the commonest and most severe postoperative complication in patients with cancer. Acupuncture has been widely used for PGD in cancer. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of acupuncture for PGD in cancer. Methods: We comprehensively searched eight randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of acupuncture for PGD in cancer published until November 2022. Time to first flatus (TFF) and time to first defecation (TFD) were the primary outcomes, and time to bowel sound recovery (TBSR) and the length of hospital stay (LOS) were the secondary outcomes. The Cochrane Collaboration Risk of Bias Tool was used to assess the quality of the RCTs, and the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluations (GRADE) system was used to evaluate the certainty of the evidence. The meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.4, and a publication bias test was performed using Stata 15.1. Results: Sixteen RCTs involving 877 participants were included in this study. The meta-analysis indicated that acupuncture could effectively reduce the TFF, TFD, and TBSR compared with routine treatment (RT), sham acupuncture, and enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS). However, acupuncture did not shorten the LOS compared with RT and ERAS. The subgroup analysis revealed that acupuncture could significantly reduce the TFF and TFD. Acupuncture effectively reduced the TFF and TFD in all cancer types included in this review. Besides, local acupoints in combination with distal acupoints could reduce the TFF and TFD, and distal-proximal acupoints could significantly reduce the TFD. No trial reported adverse events of acupuncture. Conclusions: Acupuncture is an effective and relatively safe modality for treating PGD in cancer. We anticipate that there will be more high-quality RCTs involving more acupuncture techniques and cancer types, focusing on combining acupoints for PGD in cancer, further determining the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for PGD in patients with cancer outside China. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero, identifier CRD42022371219.
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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.