The Efficacy of Moxibustion for Breast Cancer Patients with Chemotherapy-Induced Myelosuppression during Adjuvant Chemotherapy: A Randomized Controlled Study

OBJECTIVE: The randomized controlled clinical trial aims to investigate the clinical efficacy of moxibustion for breast cancer patients with chemotherapy-induced myelosuppression (CIM) during adjuvant chemotherapy. METHODS: Surgically resected breast cancer patients were randomly divided into the moxibustion group (MOX; n = 48) and control group (CON; n = 44). Routine adjuvant chemotherapy (every 21 days, 4–8 cycles) and supportive recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor were given to both groups, while MOX received an additional moxibustion treatment (once daily after each cycle of chemotherapy). Primary endpoints included the grade of myelosuppression in terms of white blood cell (WBC) and absolute neutrophil count (ANC) and the incidence of myelosuppression-related serious adverse events (SAEs). Other measures included treatment compliance, adverse events (AEs), and survival. RESULTS: WBC counts were generally higher in MOX and were dramatically higher than those in CON at the 7(th) course of chemotherapy (P=0.008), while grade 1 ANC reduction was dramatically lower than that in CON at the 7(th)course of chemotherapy (P=0.006). These effects were particularly significant in patients receiving anthracycline-taxane combination regimens. Moreover, MOX had fewer febrile neutropenia than CON (P=0.051). MOX demonstrated a lower incidence of grade 3–4 myelosuppression (P < 0.05). AEs including grade 2–3 severe nausea, various kinds of pains, and vertigo occurred less frequently in MOX (P < 0.05). No difference in survival was observed between the two groups (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Moxibustion is effective for treating CIM in breast cancer patients during adjuvant chemotherapy, especially for patients receiving high-dose, long-term, and combined chemotherapy regimens. Moxibustion can reduce the incidence of myelosuppression-related SAE and improve the compliance and safety of chemotherapy in breast cancer.