ReviewJournal of cancer survivorship : research and practice2025
The efficacy of acupuncture in the treatment of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy in cancer patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Review in Journal of cancer survivorship : research and practice, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Chemotherapy-related cognitive impairment and non-pharmacological interventions targeting the nervous system: a systematic review.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
- Evaluating Acupuncture for Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathic Pain: A Narrative Review of Clinical Evidence and Mechanistic Perspectives.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Efficacy and Proposed Mechanisms of Electroacupuncture in Animal Models of Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of pain research · 2026Review
- Breaking the Feedback Loop: A Model of Vicious Cycle for CIPN and Acupuncture-Medication Combination.Cancer management and research · 2026Review
- Acupuncture for Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis with Trial Sequential Analysis.Journal of pain research · 2026Review
- ITF6475, a New Histone Deacetylase 6 Inhibitor, Prevents Painful Neuropathy Induced by Paclitaxel.Toxics · 2025Article
- Regulatory effects of traditional Chinese medicine on the breast-cancer immune microenvironment.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Review
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.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeChemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a common side effect in cancer patients, often emerging within the first month of chemotherapy. Severe CIPN can disrupt daily life, necessitating chemotherapy adjustments or discontinuation, which may increase cancer mortality. No standardized treatment exists, but acupuncture is widely used in China for CIPN.This study aimed to comprehensively assess the actual efficacy of acupuncture in treating CIPN in cancer patients.
methodsWe searched PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Cochrane Library up to October 2024 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on acupuncture for CIPN, following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). Methodological quality was assessed using the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool (RoB 2.0) and the modified Jadad scale. A random-effects model was used to analyze the Effect Size (ES) and 95% Confidence Interval (CI).Data analysis was performed using RevMan 5.3 software.
resultsThe final analysis incorporated 1,048 patients from 18 studies. The results presented in the forest plot demonstrated that, when compared to the control group, acupuncture exhibited superior efficacy in improving CIPN symptoms (RR = 1.11, 95%CI [1.01,1.21]), alleviating pain (SMD = -0.93, 95%CI [-1.63,-0.22]), enhancing quality of life (QoL) (MD = - 1.14, 95%CI [- 1.97, - 0.31]), and reducing chemotherapy-related neurotoxicity (MD = - 3.34, 95%CI [- 5.24, - 1.44]). Additionally, in alleviating CIPN-related pain, simple acupuncture demonstrates superior efficacy compared to electroacupuncture.
conclusionThis study clearly demonstrates that acupuncture offers more substantial benefits to CIPN patients compared to usual care, medication, vitamin, and sham acupuncture. This research serves as a valuable reference for cancer patients, physicians, nurses, and other professional medical practitioners.
Indexed as
Identifiers
40830723What Socratic holds
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 Socratic graph.