Clinical Study On Treatment Of Nausea And Vomiting After Chemotherapy Of Malignant Tumor By Acupuncture

Subject:To evaluate effects of the acupuncture in preventing and treatment on chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) in patients with advanced cancer.Methods/design:This study is a multicenter, randomized, sham-controlled prospective clinical trial with 2 parallel arms. Sixty-four participants were recruited from three centers. Eligible participants were randomly assigned into the verum acupuncture (VA) group or the sham acupuncture (SA) group in a 1:1 ratio. Both groups had a 5-day treatment period and a 16-day follow-up period. Participants in both groups received acupuncture session twice on the first-day of chemotherapy circle, and once consecutively on the following 4 days. Each session took approximately 30 minutes. The primary outcome measure was the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE 4.03) to assess CINV. The secondary outcome measures included the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group score (ECOG) and Simplified Nutritional Appetite Questionnaire (SNAQ). Safety was assessed at each visit. The primary outcome was assessed at baseline, day 1,2,3,7,10,14,21 of the chemotherapy circle. The secondary outcome measures were assessed at baseline, day 3,7,14,21 of the chemotherapy circle.Outcome and Conclusion:Acupuncture combined Ondansetron could improve the effect of controlling for nausea in advanced cancer patients during the first three-day of the chemotherapy circle (35.8% vs.19.97%, P=0.048); the complete remission rate on vomiting is also superior to the control group (69.1% vs 44.4%, P=0.001). Acupuncture is effective, safe and well-tolerated in managing CINV.