Acupuncture could 'relieve drug side effects in breast cancer patients'

Patients with breast cancer have been found to suffer from fewer side effects when receiving the drug aromatase inhibitor alongside acupuncture therapy. A new study has found that the drug used alongside acupuncture, or a "sham" placebo procedure, results in fewer difficult side effects.

Researchers from the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center, US, have published their findings in the online journal 'Cancer'. They found that patients diagnosed with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer that was in its early stages displayed less symptoms when being treated an aromatase inhibitor, which is a common treatment type, according to Dr Ting Bao, lead researcher.

Patients that receive eight weekly treatments of the drug and acupuncture, whether real or a sham procedure, experienced a reduction in a number of side effects, most noticeably hot flashes, Doctor Bao continued. 

It was found there was no real difference in patients' symptom reduction whether they received the real acupuncture procedure or the fake one. A total of 47 women, including 24 who received the fake procedure and 23 who were given real acupuncture, were included in the study. Doctor Bao suggests the sample may have been too small to differentiate any changes in symptoms between the real and false procedures.

The sham procedure included retractable needles that did not penetrate the patient's skin and was done over non-acupuncture points. While the procedure did not have any physical effect on the patient, it is possible that it had a psychological effect. 

Doctor Bao said: "We are not convinced that sham acupuncture is totally inert. Importantly, neither type of acupuncture produced any significant side effects, which is good news for patients."

Common side effects in post-menopausal women who take an aromatase inhibitor upon diagnosis of breast cancer include anxiety, joint and muscle pain, depression, hot flashes and other symptoms. The study suggests that acupuncture could help to alleviate some of these symptoms.

"If we really want to find something that will help patients, acupuncture is a reasonable alternative to drug therapy, which can produce its own set of side effects," Doctor Bao said.