Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41926740›Full record

Trial reportJournal of the National Cancer Institute2026

Electroacupuncture improves cognitive function and neuropsychiatric symptoms in breast cancer survivors: a pilot randomized controlled trial.

Ding Quan Ng, Matthew Heshmatipour, Julia Trudeau, Apeksha Sridhar, Brock Pluimer, Olivia G G Drayson, Sayeh M Lavasani, Ritesh Parajuli, Sanghoon Lee, Anshu Agrawal and 6 more

Registry-linked trialAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05283577 (Electroacupuncture for the Management of Symptom Clusters in Cancer Patients and Survivors), which is not on this map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–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.

NCT05283577 naactive not recruitingnot on this map

Electroacupuncture for the Management of Symptom Clusters in Cancer Patients and Survivors (EAST): A Feasibility Study

TypeinterventionalSponsorUniversity of California, IrvineRan2022 to 2026Enrolled70ConditionsCancerArmsElectroacupuncture, Sham-Electroacupuncture
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

16 authors.

Ding Quan NgDepartment of Clinical Pharmacy Practice, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, Irvine, CA, United States.ORCID 0000-0002-0754-7901
Matthew HeshmatipourDepartment of Clinical Pharmacy Practice, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, Irvine, CA, United States.ORCID 0000-0002-2831-5106
Julia TrudeauDepartment of Clinical Pharmacy Practice, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, Irvine, CA, United States.ORCID 0000-0002-3250-1876
Apeksha SridharSusan Samueli Integrative Health Institute, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States.ORCID 0000-0002-4205-6243
Brock PluimerSusan Samueli Integrative Health Institute, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States.ORCID 0000-0003-2404-051X
Olivia G G DraysonDepartment of Radiation Oncology, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, CA, United States.ORCID 0009-0009-0635-9544
Sayeh M LavasaniDivision of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, CA, United States.
Ritesh ParajuliDivision of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, CA, United States.ORCID 0000-0002-1801-5783
Sanghoon LeeCollege of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, South Korea.ORCID 0000-0002-1324-6101
Anshu AgrawalDivision of Basic and Clinical Immunology, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, CA, United States.ORCID 0000-0002-3323-9152
Munjal M AcharyaDepartment of Radiation Oncology, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, CA, United States.ORCID 0000-0002-7767-5642
Charles L LimoliDepartment of Radiation Oncology, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, CA, United States.ORCID 0000-0002-1321-4142
Richard E HarrisSusan Samueli Integrative Health Institute, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States.
Lifang XieSusan Samueli Integrative Health Institute, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States.
Shaista MalikSusan Samueli Integrative Health Institute, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States.ORCID 0000-0002-8040-0391
Alexandre ChanDepartment of Clinical Pharmacy Practice, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, Irvine, CA, United States.ORCID 0000-0003-4391-4219

Funding

Univ.of Calif., Irvine Cancer Center Support GrantP30CA062203 · NCI · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE · PI Melanie Funes · 1994 to 2026
$57.9M
California Breast Cancer Research Program B28IB5461-SNational Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health P30CA062203NCI NIH HHS P30 CA062203UC Irvine Chao Comprehensive Cancer Center
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundWe conducted a randomized, double-blinded pilot trial to compare the impact of 2 electroacupuncture (EA) regimens on co-occurring neuropsychiatric symptoms among breast cancer survivors.

methodsBreast cancer survivors (BCS) who self-reported cognitive impairment, fatigue, insomnia, or psychological distress were randomized (1:1) to receive 10 weekly EA to target either neuropsychiatric-specific (neuropsychiatric-specific EA, nEA) or nonneuropsychiatric-specific (sham EA, sEA) acupoints. Primary endpoints were the within-group pre-post effect sizes (Glass's Δ) in symptom severities, adjusted for multiple comparisons (Padjusted). Outcomes were assessed using neurocognitive tests (CANTAB), patient-reported outcomes (PROs) (Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Cognitive Function, Multidimensional Fatigue Symptom Inventory-Short Form, European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-Core 30), plasma biomarkers, and neuroimaging. Responders were defined by reliable change index (for objective cognition) or minimal clinically important differences (for PROs).

resultsThirty-five participants were recruited, with 30 (86%) completing all sessions. The mean (±SD) age was 58.2 (±12.2) years, and 86% reported co-occurring symptoms. Following treatment, the nEA group demonstrated significant improvements in attention (T3: Δ = 0.562, T4: Δ = 0.708, both Padjusted <.05) and distress (T3: Δ = 0.764, T4: Δ = 0.711, both Padjusted < .05). More responders were observed after nEA treatment for objective cognition (42.9% vs 12.5%) and distress (50% vs 37.5%). Neuropsychiatric-specific EA-treated participants showed increased gray matter volume compared with sEA (P = .033), which positively correlated with better attention function (r = 0.69, P = .020). Neuropsychiatric-specific EA-related improvements in memory and response speed were associated with reduced connectivity in the default mode network (DMN-SFG, r = -0.93, P < .01) and increased connectivity in the dorsal attention network (DAN-SMG, r = 0.86, P < .001), respectively. All adverse events were grade 2 or lower. CONCLUSION(S): Electroacupuncture targeting neuropsychiatric-specific acupoints suggests improvements in cognition and distress symptoms in BCS, warranting validation in larger, multicenter trials. CLINICALTRIALS.GOV: NCT05283577.

Indexed as

Breast NeoplasmsCancer SurvivorsCognitionCognitive DysfunctionElectroacupunctureAgedDouble-Blind MethodFatigueFemaleHumansMiddle AgedNeuropsychological TestsPilot ProjectsQuality of LifeSleep Initiation and Maintenance DisordersTreatment Outcome

Identifiers

PMID41926740
PMCPMC13285686

What Socratic 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 Socratic graph.