Mechanistic and thermal characterization of acupuncture for chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy as measured by quantitative sensory testing
Year: 2022
Type: article
Study designs: Randomized Controlled Trial, Clinical Trial
Abstract: Purpose Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a common and debilitating side effect of chemotherapy. Acupuncture is a promising nonpharmacological intervention for CIPN. However, the physiological effects of acupuncture treatment remain poorly understood. We examined the effects of acupuncture on CIPN using semi-objective quantitative sensory testing (QST). Methods We conducted a randomized controlled trial of real acupuncture (RA) and sham acupuncture (SA) compared to usual care (UC) in cancer survivors with moderate to severe CIPN. Treatment response was assessed with QST measures of tactile and vibration detection thresholds in hands and feet, thermal detection, and pain thresholds at weeks 0, 8, and 12. Constrained linear mixed model (cLMM) regression was used for statistical analysis. Results 63 patients completed QST testing. At week 8, vibrational detection thresholds in feet were significantly lower in RA and SA (p = 0.019 and p = 0.046) than in UC, with no difference between RA and SA (p = 0.637). Both RA and SA also showed significantly higher cool thermal detection than UC (p = 0.008 and p = 0.013, respectively), with no difference between RA and SA (p = 0.790). No differences in tactile detection, vibrational detection in hands, warm thermal detection, and thermal pain thresholds were detected among the three arms at weeks 8 and 12. Conclusion QST demonstrated different patterns in RA, SA, and UC. After eight weeks of RA, we observed significant improvements in the vibrational detection threshold in feet and cool thermal detection threshold in hands compared to UC. No significant differences were seen when compared to SA. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03183037); June 9, 2017
Language: English
Subfield: Complementary and alternative medicine
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
Awards: G3876228751, G5229292943, G7296096609, G775981337, Effect and Mechanism of Acupuncture for Cancer-related Cognitive Impairment (ENHANCE), Cancer Center Support Grant, Yoga for Chemotherapy-induced Peripheral Neuropathy Treatment (YCT) Trial, Acupuncture for Chemothrapy-induced Peripheral Neuropathy Treatment (ACT) Trial, G997108055
OpenAlex ID: W4311824578