Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37515495›Full record

ReviewIntegrative cancer therapies

The Role of Complementary and Alternative Medicine on Cancer-Related Fatigue in Adults: An Overview of Systematic Reviews.

Peijin Li, Qian Wang, Lixing Liu, Qinglin Zhang, Rui Zhou, Yue Wang, Tingting Liu, Li Feng

Open access · goldAbstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Integrative cancer therapies. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
1.6field-weighted citation impact, top 15% 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

2 citing papers in PubMed, 4 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Effect of acupuncture on fatigue in cancer survivors with chronic pain: a secondary analysis.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025
    Trial
  2. Review
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

8 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Peijin LiNational Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy for Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.ORCID 0000-0002-7620-4152
Qian WangBeijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China.
Lixing LiuNational Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy for Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.ORCID 0000-0002-6130-7511
Qinglin ZhangNational Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy for Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
Rui ZhouNational Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy for Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
Yue WangBeijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China.
Tingting LiuNational Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy for Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
Li FengNational Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy for Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
Beijing University of Chinese Medicine · CNChinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College · CNBeijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCancer-related fatigue (CRF) has an enormous adverse impact on quality of life and subsequent therapy of cancer patients. Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is reported to improve CRF in many systematic reviews (SRs), but the effects are controversial because of variations in the quality and outcomes.

methodsThirteen databases were searched from inception to September 2022. Only SRs of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included. We assessed the quality of included SRs with the AMSTAR-2 tool, the strength of evidence with the GRADE system, the risk of bias with the ROBIS tool, and the integrity of SRs with the PRISMA checklist.

resultsWe included 30 eligible SRs (27 meta-analyses). Based on the AMSTAR-2 tool, 29 SRs were rated as "critically low" quality, and only one was rated as "low" quality. With the ROBIS tool, 19 SRs demonstrated a low risk of bias. According to the PRISMA checklist, no SRs reported all the items, and 10 SRs sufficiently reported over 70%. Based on the GRADE system, 7 outcomes were assessed as high-quality evidence.

conclusionThis overview demonstrates promising evidence for the effectiveness of CAM interventions in the treatment of CRF in adults. The roles of qigong, music, auricular point therapy, and dietary supplements in CRF need further evaluation. Although findings are mixed, it is recommend to select appropriate CAM to manage cancer-related fatigue under the guidance of physicians. More studies with rigorous methodological designs and sufficient sample sizes are needed.

Indexed as

Complementary TherapiesNeoplasmsQigongAdultBiasFatigueHumansacupuncturecancer-related fatiguecomplementary and alternative medicineoverviewsystematic reviews

Identifiers

PMID37515495
PMCPMC10387784
OpenAlexW4385385273

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
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.