PMID- 32389019
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20210429
LR  - 20211117
IS  - 2224-5839 (Electronic)
IS  - 2224-5820 (Print)
IS  - 2224-5820 (Linking)
VI  - 9
IP  - 4
DP  - 2020 Jul
TI  - Effects of auricular acupuncture on appetite in patients with advanced cancer: a 
      pilot randomized controlled trial.
PG  - 1804-1811
LID - 10.21037/apm.2020.04.24 [doi]
AB  - BACKGROUND: Over half of patients with advanced cancer report appetite loss or 
      anorexia. Previous studies have shown the benefit of acupuncture for 
      cancer-related nausea and vomiting, but limited evidence exists for its role in 
      appetite improvement. Our study aimed to evaluate the feasibility and safety of 
      auricular acupuncture to improve appetite for cancer patients with advanced 
      disease. METHODS: We performed a two-arm parallel, pilot randomized controlled 
      trial (RCT) of auricular acupuncture versus usual care control in patients with 
      stage III or IV cancer who experienced appetite loss. The primary outcome was 
      changed in the Simplified Nutritional Appetite Questionnaire (SNAQ; score range, 
      4-20) between two groups from baseline to weeks 2 and 4, with secondary outcomes 
      including change in weight, as well as an additional evaluation at week 8 for 
      durability of treatment effects. We used independent two-sample t-test for the 
      change in mean score for each outcome during or after treatment. We assessed the 
      interaction between time and treatment from baseline to weeks 2, 4, and 8 using 
      mixed-effects models by ANOVA test. RESULTS: We randomized 55 patients to 
      auricular acupuncture (N=27) or control group (N=28). By week 4, the auricular 
      acupuncture group had a significantly higher escalation in the SNAQ score than 
      the control group compared with baseline [mean difference 3.69; 95% confidential 
      interval (95% CI): 2.5, 4.8; P<0.001] and experienced a 51.4% improvement in 
      appetite. From baseline to weeks 2 and 4, patients lost a little weight in the 
      control group but gained weight in the auricular acupuncture group. Between 
      baseline and week 4, change in the SNAQ score was significantly associated with 
      change in weight (P=0.001). No adverse events (AEs) were reported during the 
      study. CONCLUSIONS: Compared to usual care, auricular acupuncture is feasible and 
      safe to improve appetite and help patients with advanced cancer gain weight.
FAU - Sun, Lingyun
AU  - Sun L
AD  - Clinical Cancer Center, Xiyuan Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical 
      Sciences, Beijing 100091, China.
FAU - Mao, Jun J
AU  - Mao JJ
AD  - Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Bendheim Integrative Medicine Center, New 
      York, NY, USA.
FAU - Liu, Qun
AU  - Liu Q
AD  - Department of Integrative Chinese and Western Medicine, Cancer Hospital of Peking 
      University, Beijing 100142, China.
FAU - Yang, Yufei
AU  - Yang Y
AD  - Clinical Cancer Center, Xiyuan Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical 
      Sciences, Beijing 100091, China.
FAU - He, Bin
AU  - He B
AD  - Clinical Cancer Center, Xiyuan Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical 
      Sciences, Beijing 100091, China. hebinbj68@163.com.
LA  - eng
GR  - P30 CA008748/CA/NCI NIH HHS/United States
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Randomized Controlled Trial
DEP - 20200427
PL  - China
TA  - Ann Palliat Med
JT  - Annals of palliative medicine
JID - 101585484
SB  - IM
MH  - *Acupuncture, Ear
MH  - Appetite
MH  - Humans
MH  - *Neoplasms/therapy
MH  - Pilot Projects
MH  - Treatment Outcome
PMC - PMC8591677
MID - NIHMS1723664
OTO - NOTNLM
OT  - Auricular acupuncture
OT  - advanced cancer
OT  - anorexia
OT  - expectancy
OT  - randomized controlled trial (RCT)
COIS- Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure 
      form (available at http://dx.doi.org/10.21037/apm.2020.04.24). The authors have 
      no conflicts of interest to declare.
EDAT- 2020/05/12 06:00
MHDA- 2021/04/30 06:00
PMCR- 2021/11/15
CRDT- 2020/05/12 06:00
PHST- 2020/01/19 00:00 [received]
PHST- 2020/03/02 00:00 [accepted]
PHST- 2020/05/12 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2021/04/30 06:00 [medline]
PHST- 2020/05/12 06:00 [entrez]
PHST- 2021/11/15 00:00 [pmc-release]
AID - apm.2020.04.24 [pii]
AID - 10.21037/apm.2020.04.24 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Ann Palliat Med. 2020 Jul;9(4):1804-1811. doi: 10.21037/apm.2020.04.24. Epub 2020 
      Apr 27.