Acupuncture helps cut fatigue, anxiety and depression in patients with breast cancer using aromatase inhibitors

Acupuncture helps cut fatigue, anxiety and depression in patients with breast cancer using aromatase inhibitors -

Using electroacupuncture (EA) - a form of acupuncture where a small electric current is passed between pairs of acupuncture needles - produced significant improvements in fatigue, anxiety and depression in as little as eight weeks for patients with breast cancer at an early stage experiencing joint pain associated with the use of aromatase inhibitors (AI) to treat breast cancer. The results of a randomized against placebo controlled trial examining the operation conducted by researchers from the School of Medicine Perelman University of Pennsylvania are published online this week in the journal Cancer . The study is the first demonstration of the effectiveness of environmental assessment both joint pain relief, as well as the other common symptoms.

The results are based on previous findings reported in November 2013, showing that EA may reduce joint pain reported by 50 percent of breast cancer patients taking AIs - the most commonly prescribed drugs for prevent recurrence of the disease in postmenopausal women with early stage, the receptor positive breast cancer hormone. Despite their effectiveness, the joint pain associated with the use of AIs often leads to fatigue, anxiety, depression and sleep disorders in these patients, the researchers suggest may cause premature discontinuation of the drug. Previous studies have shown that nearly half of women taking AIs do not complete the recommended treatment, and that those who stop taking medications or not take them as prescribed more likely to die in both breast cancer and other causes.

"Since many patients experience pain, fatigue, anxiety and depression at the same time, our results provide an opportunity to offer patients a treatment that can target multiple symptoms," said the lead author Jun Mao, MD MSCE, associate professor of family medicine and community health at the Perelman school of Medicine Penn, who heads the integrative oncology program in the Abramson Cancer Center. "We see patients every day who are looking for ways to fight against some of the side effects of their treatment. What is particularly important about these new results is that we can now offer more treatment and management solutions based on evidence for these women. "

In the trial of eight weeks, the researchers evaluated the short-term effects and safety of the EA for joint pain associated AI and other side effects compared to sham acupuncture (SA - a non-electric, placebo acupuncture where the needles are not not actually inserted into the skin), and usual care. the study participants, who were all treated by AI treatment and joint pain were randomized to EA, SA or usual care. reported experiences by patients of fatigue and psychological distress were measured before the study and periodically throughout, with additional follow-up four weeks after treatment

• fatigue: . compared with usual care, patients receiving EA had a greater reduction in fatigue score at week eight and the effect was maintained at week 12. On average, patients reported a reduction of 2, 0 points of fatigue on short fatigue inventory, an instrument to assess severity of fatigue on a numerical scale from 0-10

• anxiety :. By week 12, patients receiving EA reported a significant improvement in their anxiety score, while patients receiving SA did not. On average, patients in the EA group reported a reduction of 2.2 points anxiety on the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) compared to the usual care group

• Depression :. patients in both EA and SA groups have reported a significant improvement in HADS depression scores (2.4 points and 2.0 points, respectively) compared to the usual care group for eight weeks. The effects of EA and SA on depression were maintained at week 12.

"Our study provides a new understanding of how fatigue, sleep and distress psychological relate to pain in patients with AI-related joint pain. More importantly, we found that acupuncture helped reduce the symptoms and effects persisted for at least four weeks after treatment, "said Mao." There is a small but growing literature shows that acupuncture is effective for the management of pain, fatigue, anxiety and depression. However, studies with larger sample sizes and longer follow-up periods are needed to provide more knowledge on how these treatments, combined with usual care, improve the quality of life of our patients. "