OBJECTIVE

To assess the clinical efficacy of acupuncture on neoadjuvant chemotherapy with capecitabine plus paclitaxel and radiotherapy in progressive gastric cancer.

METHODS

In this randomized, double-blind, controlled clinical trial, 70 patients with advanced gastric cancer receiving radio-chemotherapy between May 2018 and June 2020 were assessed for eligibility in our institution and recruited. They were assigned via the random number table method at a ratio of 1 : 1 to receive either neoadjuvant chemotherapy with capecitabine plus paclitaxel and radiotherapy (control group) or acupuncture on neoadjuvant chemotherapy with capecitabine plus paclitaxel and radiotherapy (intervention group). The outcome measures included symptom mitigation, quality of life, and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) symptom scores.

RESULTS

The two groups showed similar results in abdominal circumference, intraabdominal pressure, and bowel sounds before treatment ( > 0.05). Acupuncture plus conventional treatment was associated with better mitigation on intraabdominal pressure (11.08 ± 1.37 vs. 12.17 ± 2.68) and bowel sounds (4 [3, 4] vs. 3 [3, 4]) versus conventional treatment alone ( < 0.05). No statistically significant difference in TCM symptom scores was observed between the two groups before treatment ( > 0.05). Acupuncture plus conventional treatment resulted in a lower TCM symptom score (24.63 ± 4.56 points) versus conventional treatment (31.17 ± 4.91 points) ( < 0.05). The eligible patients given acupuncture showed significantly higher scores of physical function, role function, emotional function, cognitive function, and social function (81.52 ± 5.37, 88.17 ± 5.17, 85.15 ± 6.71, 78.45 ± 5.85, and 80.98 ± 7.14) versus those without acupuncture (52.98 ± 8.23, 69.87 ± 5.54, 68.24 ± 9.22, 61.34 ± 6.27, and 64.79 ± 6.89) ( < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Acupuncture is effective in the recovery of acute toxicity after radio-chemotherapy for patients with advanced gastric cancer, which provides a certain reference for clinical treatment and is worthy of application and promotion.