Acupuncture Research at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Acupuncture may help treat specific cancer-related symptoms. Here, we summarize our clinical trials that sought to determine acupuncture's role in managing cancer-related symptoms. Trials have been conducted to determine acupuncture's ability to mitigate cancer-related symptoms including dyspnea, fatigue, xerostomia, lymphedema, hot flashes, postoperative ileus, pain and dysfunction after neck dissection, and postthoracotomy pain. Published studies indicate that acupuncture versus placebo acupuncture failed to reduce cancer-related dyspnea. Both true and sham acupuncture alleviated fatigue slightly, but no significant differences between groups emerged. Compared with sham acupuncture, our research showed that acupuncture significantly improved saliva production in patients with xerostomia and significantly reduced lymphedema patients' arm circumference in a pilot study. However, acupuncture failed to significantly reduce hot flashes and was no more successful than sham acupuncture in reducing postoperative ileus. Significant reductions in pain and dysfunction occurred in cancer patients after neck dissection. In a feasibility study, acupuncture was found to be acceptable to lung cancer patients and did not interfere with standard postoperative care. In summary, acupuncture is a potential candidate for the treatment of some important cancer-related symptoms. Large clinical trials and research to investigate mechanistic pathways are warranted.