Paley, CA, Bennett, MI and Johnson, MI (2011) Acupuncture for cancer-induced bone pain? Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2011. 671043. ISSN 1741-427X
Abstract
Bone pain is the most common type of pain in cancer. Bony metastases are common in advanced cancers, particularly in multiple myeloma, breast, prostate or lung cancer. Current pain-relieving strategies include the use of opioid-based analgesia, bisphosphonates and radiotherapy. Although patients experience some pain relief, these interventions may produce unacceptable side-effects which inevitably affect the quality of life. Acupuncture may represent a potentially valuable adjunct to existing strategies for pain relief and it is known to be relatively free of harmful side-effects. Although acupuncture is used in palliative care settings for all types of cancer pain the evidence-base is sparse and inconclusive and there is very little evidence to show its effectiveness in relieving cancer-induced bone pain (CIBP). The aim of this critical review is to consider the known physiological effects of acupuncture and discuss these in the context of the pathophysiology of malignant bone pain. The aim of future research should be to produce an effective protocol for treating CIBP with acupuncture based on a sound, evidence-based rationale. The physiological mechanisms presented in this review suggest that this is a realistic objective.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2011 Carole A. Paley et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Keywords: | Rat model; dorsal-horn; auricular acupuncture; complementary/alternative medicine; different frequencies; central sensitization; palliative care; analgesia; brain; electroacupuncture |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Medicine and Health (Leeds) > School of Medicine (Leeds) > Leeds Institute of Health Sciences (Leeds) > Academic Unit of Primary Care (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 16 Oct 2014 09:55 |
Last Modified: | 16 Oct 2014 09:55 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ecam/neq020 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Hindawi Publishing Corporation |
Identification Number: | 10.1093/ecam/neq020 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:80626 |