SynthesisSupportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer2025
Efficacy of acupuncture in managing radiotherapy/chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis 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. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
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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.
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
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Abstract
purposeTo evaluate the preventive and therapeutic efficacy of acupuncture modalities in radiation/chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis (RIOM/CIOM) management through evidence synthesis.
methodsA systematic search was performed in eight biomedical databases: four English-language databases (PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library) and four Chinese-language databases (China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang, VIP, and SinoMed) for studies published up to July 25, 2025. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in English or Chinese investigating acupuncture for RIOM/CIOM were included. Dual independent extraction with standardized forms and quality appraisal using the Cochrane RoB 2.0 tool were implemented. The primary outcome was OM grading according to WHO, RTOG, or other recognized scales. The evidence quality was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) methodology.
resultsEleven RCTs (n = 865) were included. Acupuncture significantly reduced moderate-to-severe OM incidence [RR = 0.58, 95% CI:0.45-0.76; P < 0.0001), with therapeutic interventions showing greater efficacy than preventive approaches (P < 0.0001). Auricular acupuncture showed substantial benefit (RR = 0.54 vs manual technique RR = 0.97). Other outcomes revealed significant ulcer duration reduction (SMD = -1.13, 95% CI -1.71-[-0.55]; P = 0.0001), pain score improvement (SMD = -1.89, P = 0.0005), and enhanced immune modulation (TGF-β1/IL-6 levels) with Karnofsky performance increase (MD = 5.83, P = 0.004). No severe adverse events were reported. The quality of evidence was rated as moderate due to significant heterogeneity observed across the studies.
conclusionsThe systematic review and meta-analysis found that acupuncture was effectively associated with preventing and treating RIOM/CIOM, shortening ulcer duration, reducing ulcer size, alleviating pain, and improving quality of life, although the evidence level was moderate. The finding suggests that more high-quality RCTs were needed for validation.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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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 Socratic graph.