SynthesisMedicine2025
Auricular acupressure for insomnia in women with breast cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Synthesis in Medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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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
6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Global research trends of TCM-based nonpharmacologic interventions in breast cancer supportive care: a bibliometric analysis (2000-2025).Frontiers in oncology · 2026Pooled it
- Acupuncture and Acupressure for Cancer Symptom Management: an Opinion Statement Based on Preliminary Evidence Mapping.Current treatment options in oncology · 2026Review
- A short-term mindfulness and auricular acupressure program for preoperative sleep fragmentation in patients with spinal metastases: a retrospective quasi-experimental study.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Auricular acupuncture for insomnia in female patients with non-metastatic breast cancer: study protocol for a multicenter, randomized, controlled clinical trial.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Effectiveness of acupressure at different ear acupoints on Insomnia: A secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial.Sleep medicine: X · 2025Article
- [Nan fang yi ke da xue xue bao = Journal of Southern Medical University · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundBreast cancer as the malignant tumor with the highest incidence and mortality rate among the global female population. Insomnia is a common complaint in breast cancer patients, more than one-third (38-47%) of breast cancer patients suffer it. Auricular acupressure (AA), a non-pharmacological therapy, has been used in the studies to intervene in insomnia in breast cancer patients. The objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to investigate the efficacy and safety of AA therapy in intervening with insomnia in breast cancer.
methodsA systematic literature search was performed for 10 databases up to January of 2024 to identify randomized control trials (RCTs). The methodological quality of RCTs was assessed independently using the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. The quality of evidence was evaluated with the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation approach. Data were screened and extracted independently using predesigned forms. The meta-analysis was conducted using RevMan 5.3 software, P-value < .05 means statistically significant.
resultsThis review included 15 studies from 3 different countries with a total of 1125 adult participants. The pooled results showed that AA significantly in improving sleep quality (mean difference [MD] = -3.36, 95% confidence interval [CI]: [-4.65, -2.07], P < .001) and life quality (MD = -7.82, 95% CI: [-14.76, -0.88], P = .03). Based on data from sleep monitoring devices, AA was valuable for improving sleep efficiency (MD = -3.63, 95% CI: [-4.19,-3.07], P = .03) in breast cancer patients. Adverse events were reported in 5 RCTs. Common adverse reactions include auricular skin allergic reaction (10/259, 3.9%), bruising (7/259, 2.7%), pain (3/259, 1.2%), and local pressure ulcers on the auricular points (2/259, 0.8%). The evidence grade was moderate because of the substantial heterogeneity among studies. Heart, Shenmen, and Subcortex were the 3 most numerous auricular points, with a total share of up to 71.70%.
conclusionThis systematic review and meta-analysis demonstrates the efficacy and safety of AA in intervening insomnia in breast cancer patients, providing a basis for the selection of clinical auricular points. However, the high-quality RCTs in existence are not enough, and more rigorous trials are needed to identify the efficacy of AA and insomnia.
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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.