Assessing Acupuncture Feasibility in the Oncology Treatment Paradigm

Integrating acupuncture into standard oncology care represents a growing frontier in supportive oncology, particularly for managing treatment-related toxicities. While the practice is widely recognized for its safety profile, CancerNetwork® asked Ting Bao, MD, MS, about its clinical data when incorporating it into multidisciplinary protocols.

In this discussion, Bao, a medical oncologist, integrative medicine specialist, and co-director of The Leonard P. Zakim Center for Integrative Therapies and Healthy Living at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, evaluated the current state of evidence for acupuncture in treating chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN). Therein, Bao noted that while existing data from single-arm and small randomized controlled trials are promising, the field currently awaits definitive results from larger phase 3 trials. Despite the moderate level of current evidence, the clinical appeal of acupuncture lies in its minimal adverse effects, leading many community and academic oncologists to recommend it as a low-risk intervention for patients with CIPN.

As the oncology community moves toward more comprehensive, patient-centered care, understanding the timing and application of integrative modalities is essential. Bao provided a concise overview of the current landscape, emphasizing the importance of upcoming phase 3 data that may soon solidify acupuncture’s role within standard oncology protocols.

Transcript:

I’m a medical oncologist focused on treating breast cancer and an integrated medicine physician and acupuncturist. Over the past 6 years, we've been working on this condition, maybe even longer. At this point, the evidence is still moderate, let's put it this way. We have a single-arm, small, randomized control trial showing acupuncture [could be] effective in reducing chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, but we are waiting for the phase 3 randomized control trial results. Hopefully, it will come out later this year. Now, I would say [to] stay tuned.

One thing for sure is we all know that the [adverse effects] of acupuncture is minimal, so that's maybe why lots of community oncologists and academic oncologists already start telling patients to use acupuncture to treat chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy.