Acupuncture May Stimulate Anticancer Immunity via Activation of Natural Killer Cells.

This article presents the hypothesis that acupuncture enhances anticancer immune functions by stimulating natural killer (NK) cells. It provides background information on acupuncture, summarizes the current scientific understanding of the mechanisms through which NK cells act to eliminate cancer cells, and reviews evidence that acupuncture is associated with increases in NK cell quantity and function in both animals and humans. The key contribution of this article involves the use of cellular immunology and molecular biological theory to interpret and synthesize evidence from disparate animal and human studies in formulating the 'acupuncture immuno-enhancement hypothesis': clinicians may use acupuncture to promote the induction and secretion of NK-cell activating cytokines that engage specific NK cell receptors that endogenously enhance anticancer immune function.

Patient education integrated with acupuncture for relief of cancer-related fatigue randomized controlled feasibility study.

Background: Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is a prominent clinical problem. There are calls for multi-modal interventions.

Methods: We assessed the feasibility of delivering patient education integrated with acupuncture for relief of CRF in a pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) with breast cancer survivors using usual care as control.

Evidence-based effect size estimation: an illustration using the case of acupuncture for cancer-related fatigue.

Background: Estimating a realistic effect size is an important issue in the planning of clinical studies of complementary and alternative medicine therapies. When a minimally important difference is not available, researchers may estimate effect size using the published literature. This evidence-based effect size estimation may be used to produce a range of empirically-informed effect size and consequent sample size estimates.

Scleroderma, stress and CAM utilization.

Scleroderma is an autoimmune disease influenced by interplay among genetic and environmental factors, of which one is stress. Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is frequently used to treat stress and those diseases in which stress has been implicated. Results are presented from a survey of patients with scleroderma.

Acupuncture and fatigue: current basis for shared communication between breast cancer survivors and providers.

Introduction: Fatigue is the most common symptom reported by survivors of cancer. At present the medical community lacks evidence-based options for its management.

Materials And Methods: This paper describes the rationale, current evidence, and research in progress as related to the use of acupuncture as a potential option.

Acupuncture for chemotherapy-associated cognitive dysfunction: a hypothesis-generating literature review to inform clinical advice.

There is an emerging consensus that between one fifth and one half of breast cancer patients experience chemotherapy-associated cognitive dysfunction. Research shows that patients with cancer are often interested in acupuncture for symptom relief. A clinical question thus arises: What should physicians advise their patients regarding the use of acupuncture to alleviate or ameliorate chemotherapy-associated cognitive dysfunction? The authors review and synthesize 2 bodies of relevant research literature: (1) the developing literature on the etiology and nature of chemotherapy-associated cognitive dysfunction and (2) the literature concerning acupuncture for neurological diseases and psychological issues.

The potential of a person-centered approach in caring for patients with cancer: a perspective from the UCLA center for East-West medicine.

Background: Evolving patient preferences as well as an expanding evidence base for commonly used complementary and alternative medicine therapies for patients with cancer have led to inroads by integrative medicine into clinical oncology. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been used in conjunction with conventional biomedicine in the prevention and treatment of cancer in China for several decades.

Methods: The authors, through select review of the existing literature and by drawing on clinical experience, describe a person-centered approach to care of patients with cancer that incorporates TCM concepts and techniques.