Symptom Management and Quality of Life of Breast Cancer Patients Using Acupuncture-Related Therapies and Herbal Medicine: A Scoping Review

SIMPLE SUMMARY: This is a scoping review of published literature on the usefulness of acupuncture-related therapies and herbal medicine in alleviating the side effects associated with breast cancer treatments. It is an important study given that the various treatment interventions for breast cancer, such as surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and hormone therapy, have unpleasant side effects that compromise the patient’s quality of life. The study revealed positive impact of some acupuncture-related therapies and herbal medicines in improving the symptoms and quality of life of patients with breast cancer. These findings will inform further studies on the economic impact of acupuncture and herbal medicines in the management of adverse events in patients on breast cancer treatment. ABSTRACT: The side effects associated with breast cancer treatments often reduce the patients’ quality of life. The effectiveness of acupuncture-related therapies and herbal medicine in managing the side effect is not fully understood. The study included clinical studies published in the 10 years since 2011 and analyzed the effectiveness of the therapies for managing side effects of anticancer treatment. The databases of MEDLINE via PubMed, CENTRAL, EMBASE, OASIS, and NSDL were searched. Thirty studies, including 13 (43.3%) randomized controlled trials (RCTs), 12 (40.0%) before-and-after studies, three (10.0%) case series, one (3.3%) case report, and one (3.3%) non-RCT, were included in this review. The main symptoms identified were aromatase inhibitors-induced arthralgia (AIA), lymphedema, and chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN). The types of acupuncture-related therapies applied included manual acupuncture, electro-acupuncture, moxibustion, and electro-moxibustion. In ten studies, eight herbal medications were administered. The Brief Pain Inventory-Short Form (BPI-SF) and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G) and -Breast (FACT-B) were frequently used to evaluate pain and QoL, respectively. Most studies suggested beneficial effects of acupuncture and herbal medicine on managing pain, daily function, and quality of life in patients going through AIA, CIPN, and/or lymphedema, with mild side effects. The scoping review implies the potential of CAM therapies as promising interventions for managing symptoms which otherwise lack alternative management options, and for improving the quality of life of breast cancer patients.