Use of acupuncture and moxibustion in the control of anticancer therapy-induced nausea and vomiting

Abstract

Anticancer-related adverse events, particularly chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, are significant problems for both healthcare professionals and patients. The use of alternative medicine is receiving more recognition for control of such adverse events as an adjunct therapy along with administration of anti-emetics. This chapter examines the current available research evidence on the efficacy of acupuncture and moxibustion for reducing anticancer treatment-induced nausea and vomiting as well as safety of such treatments, searching the major databases resulted in four systematic reviews and three new trials being identified and reviewed. These evidence supports the use of acupoint-stimulation for reducing chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting in both adult and pediatric cancer patients with very low risk of serious adverse events. Concerning different stimulation methods, acupressure on pericardium meridian demonstrate reasonably strong evidence for reducing the severity of acute nausea. Electroacupuncture on pericardium meridian can alleviate acute vomiting. In contrast, manual acupuncture and non-invasive stimulation methods fail to provide strong evidence for such effect. A meta-analysis of two small-scale studies showed significantly beneficial effects of moxibustion but further large-scale studies are needed to provide indisputable recommendations for practice. Overall, well-designed studies with a large sample size are needed for developing a solid evidence base that promotes acupuncture and moxibustion in cancer care.