From OncoLog, March 2006, Vol. 51, No. 3

House Call: Relieving Symptoms with Acupuncture

Acupuncture, one of the oldest and most commonly used medical procedures in the world, is now being used to ease the side effects of cancer treatment, thanks to research confirming its effectiveness.

What is acupuncture?

Originating in China about 2,500 years ago, acupuncture involves inserting very thin metal needles into a patient’s skin. The needles are then manipulated manually or by electrical stimulation. The number and placement of the needles varies according to the type of treatment.

The procedure has been used for the past seven years at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center to relieve cancer therapy–related symptoms, according to Joseph Chiang, M.D., a professor in the Department of Anesthesiology. Acupuncture can help alleviate a wide range of side effects of chemotherapy, radiation, and cancer surgery, including nausea, vomiting, fatigue, pain, dry mouth, insomnia, and headaches, Dr. Chiang said.

Does it work?

Research studies have shown acupuncture to be effective in treating the unpleasant side effects of cancer treatment. The 1997 National Institutes of Health (NIH) Consensus Development Conference concluded that scientific evidence validated acupuncture’s effectiveness in controlling chemotherapy- related nausea and vomiting.

Over the past 20 years, acupuncture has become increasingly popular in the United States. The NIH Consensus Development Conference found that acupuncture is widely practiced by thousands of physicians, acupuncturists, and dentists for relief or prevention of pain and for other health conditions. About 8.2 million U.S. adults have used acupuncture, according to the 2002 National Health Interview Survey.

Western medicine has not yet completely explained why acupuncture works, though some studies suggest it may regulate the nervous system, using pain-killing endorphins and immune system cells, or may alter brain chemistry by changing the release of neurotransmitters and neurohormones. Traditional Chinese medicine maintains that disease is caused by disruption of the body’s vital energy flow, called Qi, and acupuncture attempts to correct the imbalance of Qi by penetrating the skin at some of the 2,000 acupuncture points on the human body.

What does acupuncture feel like? Some describe the experience as similar to “a little mosquito bite, a slight numbness, or a feeling of fullness,” Dr. Chiang said. Usually the “very, very fine needles” are left in for about 20 minutes while the acupuncturist twists the needles manually or applies electrical stimulation.

Depending on why acupuncture is being used, the patient may immediately feel the benefit of the treatment or it may take several sessions. For pain relief, sometimes there may be dramatic improvement in one session, whereas a series of acupuncture treatments are usually required to improve fatigue and insomnia, Dr. Chiang said.

A typical acupuncture regimen involves about ten treatments given over four or five weeks, and after that, patients might come in for less frequent maintenance sessions.

“We don’t want a patient saying this is magic,” Dr. Chiang said. “It’s not magic; it’s another therapy.”

Things to consider

At M. D. Anderson, patients can be referred for onsite acupuncture treatments by their oncologists. The acupuncturists are very careful to screen for pre-existing conditions that might be negatively affected by acupuncture, such as low white blood cell counts or bleeding caused by cancer therapies.

Before cancer patients consider acupuncture, they’re advised to first discuss the subject with their physician to see how it might affect their medical condition. Picking a competent acupuncturist who is licensed and credentialed is also important. Acupuncture is one of the complementary medical treatments most commonly covered by health insurance, but check with your carrier to be sure.

For more information on this topic or for questions about M. D. Anderson’s treatments, programs, or services, call askMDAnderson at (877) MDA-6789.

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