Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41389238›Full record

Trial reportSupportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer2025

Effect of acupuncture on fatigue in cancer survivors with chronic pain: a secondary analysis.

Xiaotong Li, Kaitlin Lampson, William E Rosa, Q Susan Li, Mothi Babu Ramalingam, Andrew S Epstein, Jun J Mao

Registry-linked trialAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT02979574 (Personalize Electro-acupuncture vs. Auricular-acupuncture Comparative Effectiveness), which is not on this map. Cited by 1 paper, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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.

NCT02979574 naactive not recruitingnot on this map

Personalize Electro-acupuncture vs. Auricular-acupuncture Comparative Effectiveness

TypeinterventionalSponsorMemorial Sloan Kettering Cancer CenterRan2016 to 2026Enrolled360ConditionsChronic Pain, Musculoskeletal Pain, Fibromyalgia, Pain ManagementArmsElectro-Acupuncture (EA), Battle Field Acupuncture (BFA), Wait List Control (WLC)
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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

7 authors.

Xiaotong Li *Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA.
Kaitlin Lampson *Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA.
William E RosaDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA.
Q Susan LiDepartment of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA.
Mothi Babu RamalingamDepartment of Rehabilitation Medicine, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore, Singapore.
Andrew S EpsteinDepartment of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA.
Jun J MaoDepartment of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA. maoj@mskcc.org.

Funding

X-RAY CRYSTALLOGRAPHYP30CA008748 · NCI · SLOAN-KETTERING INSTITUTE FOR CANCER RES · PI SELWYN M VICKERS · 1985 to 2026
$347.4M
NCI NIH HHS P30 CA008748
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeFatigue is one of the most common and troublesome symptoms in cancer survivors and is strongly correlated with pain. We evaluated the effect of acupuncture versus usual care for fatigue among cancer survivors with chronic pain.

methodsWe analyzed data from a randomized clinical trial comparing the effect of electro-acupuncture (EA) or battlefield acupuncture (BFA) versus waitlist control (WLC) for chronic musculoskeletal pain in cancer survivors. Analysis included participants who reported moderate or severe fatigue at baseline. Interventions were delivered over 10 weeks. Fatigue severity was measured using the Brief Fatigue Inventory (BFI).

resultsAmong 274 participants (mean age 61.0 years [standard deviation (SD)] 12.8; 73.0% women), the baseline BFI worst fatigue score was 7.1 (SD 1.7). EA and BFA were associated with reductions in worst fatigue score of 2.4 points (95% confidence interval [CI]: - 2.9 to - 1.9) and 2.0 points (95% CI: - 2.5 to - 1.5) from baseline to week 12. There was no significant between-group difference. A higher proportion of patients in both EA and BFA experienced clinically meaningful fatigue improvement compared to WLC (61.2% and 51.6% vs. 37.3%, p = 0.019). Fatigue reductions persisted at week 24 (EA: -2.1 points [95% CI: -2.6 to -1.7]; BFA: -2.2 points [95% CI: -2.8 to -1.7]).

conclusionCancer survivors with chronic pain experienced clinically meaningful and durable fatigue reductions when receiving either EA or BFA. IMPLICATIONS FOR CANCER SURVIVORS: These findings support the clinical utility of acupuncture as an evidence-based option for managing fatigue in cancer survivors with pain.

trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02979574; November 30, 2016.

Indexed as

Acupuncture TherapyCancer SurvivorsChronic PainFatigueNeoplasmsAgedElectroacupunctureFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedSeverity of Illness IndexAcupunctureCancer survivorsChronic painClinical trialFatigue

Identifiers

PMID41389238

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.