Positive Health Online

Abstract

VICKERS and co-workers, Integrative Medicine Service, and Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10021, USA, vickersa@mskcc.org, report on a phase II study of acupuncture for post-chemotherapy fatigue.

Background

The aim of this study was to determine whether the improvement in post-chemotherapy fatigue achieved by acupuncture is substantial enough to warrant a randomized controlled trial.

Methodology

37 patients were recruited who had undergone cytotoxic chemotherapy and were suffering from fatigue. 25 patients received acupuncture twice a week for 4 weeks, and 12 patients received acupuncture once a week for 6 weeks. The primary outcome measure was the change in score of the Brief Fatigue Inventory between baseline and 2 weeks post treatment.

Results

Baseline Fatigue scores were high, with about half of them ranging in the 'severe' range, even though patients had had the chemotherapy on average more than 2 years previously. The mean improvement after acupuncture was 31.1%.

Conclusion

This result meets the pre-specified criterion for declaring acupuncture worthy of more detailed study as a treatment of post-chemotherapy fatigue.

References

Vickers AJ, Straus DJ, Fearon B, Cassileth BR. Acupuncture for postchemotherapy fatigue: a phase II study. Journal of Clinical Oncology 22 (9): 1731-1735, May 1, 2004.