Treatment of Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy in Integrative Oncology: A Survey of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Practitioners

Assessing the role and impact of research in clinical practice among acupuncturists in western countries: a multinational cross-sectional survey

Background

Evidence-informed practice is crucial to perform safe and efficient health interventions. In recent years, the evidence base of acupuncture continuously increased leading to the integration of acupuncture into clinical guidelines by various leading medical associations worldwide. At the same time, recent studies showed that licensed acupuncturists are rarely utilizing scientific research to inform their practice.

Methods

This descriptive study using an online survey assessed the role of evidence-informed practice of acupuncturists in Austria, Germany, the United States of America, Australia, and New Zealand and aimed to determine critical factors relevant for promoting research literacy including demographical data, data about the clinical practice patterns, and the role and value of different information sources of traditional, complementary and integrative medicine (TCIM) practitioners.

Results

In total, 404 acupuncturists completed the online survey that included questions about demographic characteristics, the role and value of research in clinical practice, and details about the amount and type of continuing professional education. Univariate and multivariate analysis was used to determine significant predictors of the outcome variable "importance of research in clinical practice" (numerical rating scale, 0 to 100). The results showed that the majority of acupuncturists use certified courses as primary source of continuing professional education and value experts' opinions as the most reliable source of information. Multivariate analysis showed that the importance of research is dependent on the interest in research, an interdisciplinary learning environment, and positive experiences with research including if an acupuncture study ever changed the clinical practice of practitioners.

Conclusion

Future educational programs should therefore focus on an interactive format aiming to promote skills to critically assess the value and practical use of research studies to improve the general practice of acupuncture.

Cytarabine-induced peripheral neuropathy in a young patient with acute myeloid leukemia: a case report

Introduction and importance

Cytarabine, a pyrimidine analogue, is commonly used to treat multiple haematological conditions, such as acute leukaemias and lymphomas. One of the rare and less reported complications of cytarabine is peripheral neuropathy, in which peripheral nerves are damaged, often causing weakness, numbness, and pain, usually in the hands and feet.

Case presentation

The authors report the case of a 17-year-old male who developed a gradual onset of weakness and sensory loss in all four limbs during treatment with a conventional dose of cytarabine for acute myeloid leukaemia. Cytarabine was discontinued after the development of symptoms, and his motor and sensory functions gradually improved over the course of 3 months.

Clinical discussion

Alongside some well-known side effects of cytarabine, including bone marrow suppression, cerebellar syndrome, and cardiotoxicity, peripheral neuropathy is one of the uncommon side effects of cytarabine. Diagnosis includes identifying and grading the severity of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) through clinical assessment and nerve conduction studies. Management includes withdrawing the chemotherapeutic agent and supportive treatment with drugs such as duloxetine. Recent studies also favour the use of acupuncture and sensorimotor-based exercise intervention for the management of CIPN.

Methods

This case report has been prepared in line with the SCARE 2023 criteria.

Conclusion

Although rare, even a conventional dosage of cytarabine can cause peripheral neuropathy, and routine neuromuscular examinations can help in the early diagnosis and intervention to limit further progression and reverse the course of the disease.

Efficacy and safety of electroacupuncture for oxaliplatin-induced peripheral neuropathy in colorectal cancer patients: a single-blinded, randomized, sham-controlled trial

BACKGROUND

Oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy is a major first-line conventional therapy for advanced and metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC). However, oxaliplatin causes chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN). Acupuncture has long been used to alleviate limb numbness in Chinese medicine practice.

AIM

The aim of this study was to examine the efficacy and safety of electroacupuncture (EA) for the alleviation of CIPN in CRC patients.

DESIGN

This was a pilot single-blinded, randomized, sham-controlled trial.

SETTING/PARTICIPANTS

Sixty eligible patients, who had been diagnosed with CRC and were undergoing oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy, were randomized in a ratio of 1:1 to the EA intervention group or sham acupuncture (SA) control group. During a 12-week treatment period, patients in the EA group received EA once a week, while patients in the SA group received SA; both groups were followed up for 12 weeks.

RESULTS

Compared with the SA group, the EA group exhibited significant alleviation of CIPN severity during chemotherapy. Moreover, EA also improved the physical function, role function, and social function of CRC patients. However, there were no significant differences in tests of vibration or light touch sensation. In addition, EA appeared to be a safe treatment for CIPN and was both feasible and acceptable to CRC patients during chemotherapy.

CONCLUSION

This study showed preliminary evidence for the efficacy and safety of EA in acute CIPN among CRC patients, although further studies are needed to verify these effects and to further explore the potential role of EA in chronic CIPN (effects on which remain unclear).

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

NCT03582423 (ClinicalTrials.gov).

Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy: Epidemiology, Pathomechanisms and Treatment

PURPOSE

This review provides an update on the current clinical, epidemiological and pathophysiological evidence alongside the diagnostic, prevention and treatment approach to chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN).

FINDINGS

The incidence of cancer and long-term survival after treatment is increasing. CIPN affects sensory, motor and autonomic nerves and is one of the most common adverse events caused by chemotherapeutic agents, which in severe cases leads to dose reduction or treatment cessation, with increased mortality. The primary classes of chemotherapeutic agents associated with CIPN are platinum-based drugs, taxanes, vinca alkaloids, bortezomib and thalidomide. Platinum agents are the most neurotoxic, with oxaliplatin causing the highest prevalence of CIPN. CIPN can progress from acute to chronic, may deteriorate even after treatment cessation (a phenomenon known as coasting) or only partially attenuate. Different chemotherapeutic agents share both similarities and key differences in pathophysiology and clinical presentation. The diagnosis of CIPN relies heavily on identifying symptoms, with limited objective diagnostic approaches targeting the class of affected nerve fibres. Studies have consistently failed to identify at-risk cohorts, and there are no proven strategies or interventions to prevent or limit the development of CIPN. Furthermore, multiple treatments developed to relieve symptoms and to modify the underlying disease in CIPN have failed.

IMPLICATIONS

The increasing prevalence of CIPN demands an objective approach to identify at-risk patients in order to prevent or limit progression and effectively alleviate the symptoms associated with CIPN. An evidence base for novel targets and both pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments is beginning to emerge and has been recognised recently in publications by the American Society of Clinical Oncology and analgesic trial design expert groups such as ACTTION.

Acupuncture Relieved Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy in Patients with Breast Cancer: A Pilot Randomized Sham-Controlled Trial

Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a disabling side effect caused by neurotoxic chemotherapy. This randomized controlled trial aimed to evaluate the effect of manual acupuncture on CIPN. Twenty eligible breast cancer patients receiving taxane chemotherapy treatment were recruited and randomly divided into verum acupuncture and sham acupuncture groups. Each group received 15 treatments over 9 weeks. Quantitative tactile detection thresholds were measured using Semmes–Weinstein monofilament testing (SWM). The World Health Organization Quality of Life scale (WHOQOL-BREF), the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy/Gynecologic Oncology Group-Neurotoxicity (FACT/GOG-Ntx), and the Brief Pain Inventory-Short Form (BPI-SF) were measured before and after treatment. The between-group comparison of SWM revealed that the verum acupuncture group had more improvement of touch perception thresholds compared to the sham acupuncture group. The average pain severity in the BPI-SF of the verum acupuncture group was significantly lower than that of the sham acupuncture group. There were no significant differences in the FACT/GOG-Ntx trial outcome index and WHOQOL-BREF scores between the acupuncture and sham groups. The results suggest that acupuncture can alleviate the neuropathic pain of CIPN and improve touch perception thresholds.

Evaluating Acupuncture for the Treatment of Chemotherapy-induced Peripheral Neuropathy: An Integrative Review

The purpose of this integrative review of the literature is to synthesize the current evidence and identify gaps in knowledge regarding the effectiveness of acupuncture to treat chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN). PubMed, CINAHL, Web of Science, and Cochrane Review databases were searched using inclusion criteria: keywords acupuncture, cancer, and peripheral neuropathy, published in English, between 2009 and 2019. Sixteen articles met the inclusion criteria. The literature indicates that acupuncture is generally well tolerated by patients with cancer, and a majority of patients with CIPN reported decreased pain and increased quality of life after receiving acupuncture treatment. A comprehensive understanding of the ability of acupuncture to treat CIPN is limited by variability of acupuncture techniques and inconsistency in measures of evaluation.

The high-resolution X-ray structure of vinca-domain inhibitors of microtubules provides a rational approach for drug design

Tubulin vinca-domain ligands can inhibit microtubule polymerization, causing cell death in mitosis, and their potential against multiple cancer types has been demonstrated. However, due to drug resistance and toxicities, development of novel vinca-domain ligands is still needed. In this study, we determined the high-resolution crystal structures of vinorelbine, YXD, and Phomopsin A in complex with tubulin at 2.5 Å. Additionally, we recapitulated all previously published high-resolution crystal structures of the vinca binding site to reveal critical residues and the molecular mechanism of vinca-domain ligands interacting with tubulin. Furthermore, we designed putatively novel triazolopyrimidine derivatives by introducing secondary amine groups to establish salt-bridge and H-bond interactions with Asp179^β1 and Asn329^α2 . Our studies provided the structural basis for designing novel tubulin vinca-domain ligands.

Lifestyle and Health Behavior Change in Traditional Acupuncture Practice: A Systematic Critical Interpretive Synthesis

Introduction: Behavioral factors are the leading cause of ill-health worldwide. Diet, physical activity, smoking, and alcohol consumption are the focus of public health targets on promotion of healthy behavior. The science of behavior change is rapidly growing and has largely evolved within mainstream health care treatments. Traditional Chinese Medicine includes self-care practices that encourage healthy behavior alongside treatments such as acupuncture. Exploring behavior change within traditional acupuncture could potentially highlight new techniques and approaches, and contribute to developing models of behavior change. Aims: In this review, the authors aimed to critically appraise research exploring health behavior change within traditional acupuncture, to highlight gaps in the field, identify questions, and enable theory development. Design/Method: The authors were guided by a critical interpretive synthesis (CIS) method to explore a diverse mixture of research including qualitative and quantitative articles. Eight databases were searched up to October 2017 for articles published in English. Eleven thousand four hundred eighty-eight articles were identified (7,149 after deduplication). Titles and abstracts were screened by one reviewer (10% by a second reviewer). Eligible articles were selected using a Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome framework. CIS methods, including purposive sampling of eligible articles and a reflexive, dialectic process of critiquing evidence and theory, were used to synthesize the evidence. Results: Several articles examined the prevalence and patterns of behavior change and support for change, although methods varied and reliability of results was limited. There was more evidence concerning diet/exercise than alcohol/smoking. Aspects of acupuncturists' work identified as potential key elements for promoting behavior change included: individualized advice based on symptoms; holistic/biopsychosocial explanations; therapeutic relationship; simultaneous treatment of behavior-limiting symptoms; and patients' physical involvement with intervention. A logic model of the process of behavior change was developed, proposing that perceived support, mutual understanding, and active participation may facilitate change. Possible moderators included: single/multicomponent acupuncture; setting; patient/practitioner characteristics; treatment experience; timing; and treatment duration. Conclusion: These findings suggest behavior change work is a significant part of traditional acupuncture practice, although more reliable evidence is needed to understand the effectiveness, prevalence, and patterns of this work (in particular the patterns suggesting acupuncturists are more likely to work on changes to diet and physical activity than alcohol and smoking behaviors, and more likely to support changes in long-term compared with acute conditions). The proposed model of behavior change should be developed and tested with a view to refining the model and elaborating the suggested links with a wider theory of behavior and behavior change. This review was preregistered with PROSPERO as "Health behaviour change in traditional acupuncture treatment: a protocol for a critical interpretive synthesis": CRD42018099766.

Management of Neuropathic Pain in Polyneuropathy

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Many polyneuropathies cause significant neuropathic pain, resulting in substantial morbidity and reduced quality of life. Appropriate management is crucial for maintaining quality of life for patients with painful polyneuropathies. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has only approved one new drug for painful diabetic neuropathy in the past decade, a topical capsaicin patch that was initially approved for the treatment of postherpetic neuralgia in 2009. Gabapentinoids and serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) continue to have an advantage in safety profiles and efficacy. Other antiepileptic medications remain second-line agents because of fewer studies documenting efficacy.

RECENT FINDINGS

This article reviews recent literature on complementary and pharmacologic therapies for the management of painful polyneuropathies. Exercise has emerged as an important therapeutic tool and may also improve the underlying polyneuropathy in the setting of obesity, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes.

SUMMARY

The approach to management of painful polyneuropathies is multifactorial, using both pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic measures to improve pain severity and patient quality of life.

The efficacy and safety of electro-acupuncture for alleviating chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy in patients with coloreactal cancer: study protocol for a single-blinded, randomized sham-controlled trial

Background

Colorectal cancer is the most common cancer in Hong Kong. Oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy is a major first-line conventional therapy for advanced and metastatic colorectal cancer. However, oxaliplatin causes chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN). Acupuncture has long been used to alleviate limb numbness in Chinese medicine. This study aims to examine the efficacy and safety of acupuncture for alleviating CIPN in patients with colorectal cancer in Hong Kong.

Methods/design

This is a single-blinded, randomized, sham-controlled efficacy trial. Eighty-four eligible patients, who are Hong Kong Chinese, aged ≥ 18 years, diagnosed with colorectal cancer and undergoing oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy, will be randomized in a ratio of 1:1 to the electro-acupuncture group or the sham-controlled group. During a 12-week treatment period, patients in the electro-acupuncture group will undergo electro-acupuncture once a week from the first cycle of chemotherapy, while patients in the control group will receive sham acupuncture, and the patients in both groups will be followed up for 12 weeks. The primary outcome measure is the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy/Gynecologic Oncology Group-Neurotoxicity (FACT/GOC-Ntx) questionnaire. The secondary outcome measures include numerical rating scale (NRS) for numbness/pain, vibration and light touch sense test, the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-C30 (EORTC QLQ-C30) and Constitution of Chinese Medicine Questionnaire (CCMQ).

Discussion

The study will compare electro-acupuncture with sham acupuncture to explore the feasibility for electro-acupuncture in improving symptoms caused by chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy.

Trial registration

Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT03582423. Registered on 11 July 2018.

Clinical study on concurrent use of electro-acupuncture or Chuna manual therapy with pregabalin for chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy: safety and effectiveness (open-labeled, parallel, randomized controlled trial, assessor-blinded): A study protocol

INTRODUCTION

Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is one of the major side effects of chemotherapy. Its main symptoms are pain, paresthesia, and numbness. However, the mechanisms underlying the development of CIPN remain unclear and standard treatments have not been established. Recently, there has been a growing interest in various approaches to overcome the limitations of the existing treatments. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the concurrent use of two complementary and alternative therapies: electroacupuncture (EA) and Chuna manual therapy (CMT), with pregabalin, which is the conventional pharmacotherapy for neuropathic pain.

METHODS/DESIGN

This is an open-label, parallel, assessor-blinded randomized controlled trial, which includes 90 patients with colorectal and breast cancer, who developed CIPN. After a 2-week preparation period, the patients are divided into three groups (pregabalin administration group, pregabalin + EA treatment group, and pregabalin + CMT treatment group), treated for approximately 5 weeks and followed-up 4 weeks after treatment. The primary outcome is assessed using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy/Gynecologic Oncology Group Neurotoxicity subscale score (version 4.0) and the secondary outcome is measured using the Quality of Life Questionnaire-CIPN 20-Item Scale (version 3.0) and the quality of life questionnaire (version 3.0) developed by the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer. Moreover, exploratory efficacy and safety evaluations will be conducted based on the chemotherapy-completion rate and nerve conduction studies.

Acupuncture Effect and Mechanism for Treating Pain in Patients With Parkinson's Disease

Non-motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD) have been receiving increasing attention. Approximately half of patients with PD have experience PD-related pain. We investigated the effect and mechanism of acupuncture in patients with PD who have pain. PD patients with pain were divided into acupuncture group and control group. Nine patients completed acupuncture treatment; seven patients who received only an analgesic agent underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) twice. fMRI was performed to evaluate the functional connectivity of the brain regions. After treatment, a decrease in total scores on the King's Parkinson's Disease Pain Scale (KPPS) and Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale was observed in the acupuncture group (-46.2 and -21.6%, respectively). In the acupuncture group, increased connectivity was observed in four connections, one in the left hemisphere between the middle temporal gyrus (MTG) and precentral gyrus, and three in the right hemisphere between the postcentral gyrus and precentral gyrus, supramarginal gyrus and precentral gyrus, and MTG and insular cortex. A significant correlation was noted between the changes in functional connectivity and KPPS. The involved connection was between the left middle frontal gyrus and the right precentral gyrus (R = -0.698, P = 0.037). Acupuncture could relieve pain in PD patients by modulating brain regions related to both sensory-discriminative and emotional aspects. The present study might increase the confidence of users that acupuncture is an effective and safe analgesic tool that can relieve PD-related pain.

Meta-Analysis of Xihuang Pill Efficacy When Combined with Chemotherapy for Treatment of Breast Cancer

Objective

To systematically evaluate the efficacy of Xihuang pill (XHP) in breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy.

Methods

Three English and four Chinese databases were searched. Literature was screened using EndNote X7 and data were analyzed by Review Manager.

Results

This review included 13 randomized clinical studies of 1272 patients. The results showed that XHP increased the tumor response [risk ratio (RR) = 2.91; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.98-4.26] and improved Karnofsky performance score (KPS) for breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy [RR = 4.96; 95% CI = 2.07-11.86]. In addition, XHP treatment significantly reduced chemotherapy-induced adverse events, including nausea and vomiting [RR = 0.50; 95% CI = 0.33-0.74], WBC reduction [RR = 0.71; 95% CI = 0.47-1.06], platelet reduction [RR = 0.53; 95% CI = 0.19-1.44], hemoglobin reduction [RR = 0.31; 95% CI = 0.19-0.52], and hepatic function damage [RR = 0.63; 95% CI = 0.35-1.11].

Conclusion

XHP combined with chemotherapy in comparison with chemotherapy alone could significantly enhance the tumor response, improve KPS, and alleviate toxicity induced by chemotherapy in breast cancer patients.

The Efficacy of Acupuncture in Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) has no cure, but acupuncture may provide relief through its known neuromodulation or neuroendocrine adjustment. This review aimed to assess the efficacy of acupuncture in treating CIPN. Method: A literature review following the PRISMA Statement was performed, searching 7 databases from inception through August 2019. All studies were clinical trials of the effect of acupuncture on CIPN. The methodological quality of these trials was assessed using Cochrane criteria; meta-analysis software (RevMan 5.2) was used to analyze the data. Data Sources: The databases searched were the following: MEDLINE (Ovid), Embase, Cochrane CENTRAL, Scopus, World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform, CNKI (China National Knowledge Infrastructure), and Wanfang Med Online. Results: We examined 386 cancer patients from 6 randomized control trials, which had high quality, based on the modified Jadad scale. Meta-analysis showed that acupuncture led to significant improvements in pain scores (-1.21, 95% confidence interval [CI] = -1.61 to -0.82, P < .00001) and nervous system symptoms based on Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy/Neurotoxicity questionnaire scores (-2.02, 95% CI = -2.21 to -1.84, P < .00001). No significant change was noted in nerve conduction velocity (1.58, 95% CI = -2.67 to 5.83, P = .47). Conclusion: Acupuncture can effectively relieve CIPN pain and functional limitation. The limited number of subjects warrants a larger scale study.

Acupuncture for the Treatment of Taxane-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy in Breast Cancer Patients: A Pilot Trial

Objectives

Some chemotherapy drugs can damage the nerves and cause peripheral neuropathy which is accompanied by severe neuropathic pain or gait impairment. The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility and the safety of acupuncture for the treatment of peripheral neuropathy following chemotherapy in Korean breast cancer patients.

Design

This study was a prospective single-arm observational study using before and after measurements in breast cancer patients presenting with taxane-induced peripheral neuropathy.

Settings/Location

This study was performed at East-West Medical Center at Daegu Catholic University Hospital, Daegu, South Korea.

Interventions

Acupuncture was administered 3 times a week for 4 consecutive weeks, for 25 ± 5 minutes at each session.

Outcome Measures

The primary outcome measure was severity of CIPN using the Neuropathic Pain Symptom Inventory (NPSI) assessed by a self-administered questionnaire and Nerve Conduction Study (NCS) of extremities. The secondary outcome measure was quality of life (QoL) assessed by a self-administered questionnaire using the 36-Item Short From Health Survey (SF-36).

Results

Acupuncture significantly reduced the severity of CIPN assessed by NPSI score. Four weeks after the last treatment, the symptoms were not aggravated. According to NCS, 42.9% of participants showed improvement of sensory neuropathy. At the end of the treatment, SF-36 scores were significantly increased for variables including physical functioning, role limitations due to physical health problems, social functioning, and general health perceptions compared to those of baseline measurement.

Conclusions

Acupuncture improved symptoms of CIPN and QoL in Korean women suffering from peripheral neuropathy after chemotherapy using taxane for breast cancer. The effects of acupuncture lasted for at least 1 month after the treatment.

Acupuncture for Bortezomib-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy: Not Just for Pain

Background: Bortezomib-induced peripheral neuropathy (BIPN) is a common and debilitating side effect. Our pilot study demonstrated that acupuncture is safe and can decrease total neuropathic symptoms. However, there is lack of knowledge in which individual BIPN symptoms benefited from acupuncture. Purpose: To characterize individual symptoms reduced by acupuncture in patients with BIPN. Methods: Patients with multiple myeloma treated with bortezomib who developed BIPN grade 2 or above, based on National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (NCI CTCAE), were enrolled and received 10 acupuncture treatments over 10 weeks. Self-reported BIPN-associated symptoms assessments were collected weekly at baseline, during, and after acupuncture treatment using the Neuropathy Pain Scale (NPS) and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy/Gynecologic Oncology Group–Neurotoxicity (FACT/GOG-Ntx) questionnaires. Changes in individual symptoms were analyzed based on FACT/GOG-Ntx and NPS scores. Results: There were statistically significant reductions in individual symptoms in both NPS and FACT/GOG-Ntx. The FACT/GOG-Ntx reductions were most pronounced in hand/feet numbness/tingling, discomfort, and trouble walking. The sensory symptoms, such as tingling and numbness, especially in the feet, reduced the most (P < .0001), and motor dysfunction also reduced significantly (P = .0001). Both hearing and dysfunction scores were also statistically significantly increased, indicating improved symptoms. The NPS scores showed significant symptom relief in all 10 items from the NPS assessment, particularly in cold sensitivity and an unpleasant feeling. Conclusions: Acupuncture can improve multiple symptoms associated with BIPN, particularly numbness and tingling in hands and feet, cold sensitivity, and an unpleasant feeling. Further randomized control trials are warranted to confirm our findings.