Author: Lu W, Posner MR, Wayne P, Rosenthal DS, Haddad RI.
Conference/Journal: Integr Cancer Ther.
Date published: 2010 Aug 16
Other:
Word Count: 153
Abstract
Background: Dysphagia is a common side effect following chemoradiation therapy (CRT) in patients with head and neck cancer (HNC).
METHODS: In this retrospective case series, 10 patients with HNC were treated with acupuncture for radiation-induced dysphagia and xerostomia. All patients were diagnosed with stage III/IV squamous cell carcinoma. In all, 7 of 10 patients were percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tube dependent when they began acupuncture. Manual acupuncture and electroacupuncture were used once a week.
RESULTS: A total of 9 of 10 patients reported various degrees of subjective improvement in swallowing functions, xerostomia, pain, and fatigue levels. Overall, 6 (86%) of 7 PEG tube-dependent patients had their feeding tubes removed after acupuncture, with a median duration of 114 days (range 49 to 368 days) post CRT. One typical case is described in detail.
CONCLUSIONS: A relatively short PEG tube duration and reduced symptom severity following CRT were observed in these patients. Formal clinical trials are required to determine the causality of the observations.