Trial reportJournal of pain and symptom management2026
Acupuncture vs. Massage for Insomnia and Pain in Advanced Cancer: Exploratory RCT.
Trial report in Journal of pain and symptom management, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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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
8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
contextInsomnia symptoms affect over half of patients with advanced cancer and frequently co-occur with other conditions, particularly pain. Effective and well-tolerated treatments are needed.
objectivesTo compare acupuncture and massage therapy for insomnia symptoms with comorbid pain and examine the relationship between sleep and pain.
methodsData were drawn from a multicenter pragmatic randomized clinical trial comparing acupuncture and massage therapy for pain in advanced cancer. Among 300 participants, 234 with baseline insomnia (ISI ≥8) were included. Participants received 10 weeks of treatment with follow-up through week 26. Insomnia symptoms were measured using the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI). Linear mixed-effects models evaluated longitudinal changes. Responder analyses defined ISI responders as those with an ≥8-point reduction or an ISI score <8 and pain responders as those with an ≥30% reduction in Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) severity at week 10.
resultsBoth acupuncture and massage significantly improved ISI scores at week 10 (-3.86 and -3.83, respectively; both P < 0.0001), with no between-group difference (P = 0.91). ISI responder rates were similar (35.1% vs 33.3%), whereas BPI responder rates were higher (48.0% vs 62.9%). Pain responders had greater improvements in insomnia at week 10 (Δ = -2.97; P = 0.0003), although this association was attenuated by week 26. Insomnia responders showed greater reductions in pain at weeks 10 and 26 (both P < 0.0001).
conclusionAcupuncture and massage improved insomnia in patients with advanced cancer. Sleep and pain showed a bidirectional relationship, supporting integrative approaches targeting symptom clusters.
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