17 / 37
Page 71
Notes:
conferenceseries
.com
Volume 9, Issue 9 (Suppl)
J Cancer Sci Ther, an open access journal
ISSN: 1948-5956
World Cancer 2017
October 19-21, 2017
25
th
WORLD CANCER CONFERENCE
October 19-21, 2017 | Rome, Italy
Efficiency of acupuncture in cancer patients
Emel Mete, Veysel Akduman, Abdurrahman Tanhan, Zübeyir Sari,
and
M. Gülden Polat
Marmara University, Turkey
C
ancer is defined as a class of diseases in which abnormal cells divide without control and can invade other tissues. It is a
leading cause of death worldwide and accounted for 7.6 million deaths (around 13% of all deaths) in 2008. Acupuncture
is one of the major treatment methods in Chinese medicine (CM). The value and safety of acupuncture are documented in the
growing body of literature on acupuncture treatment for chronic pain, osteoarthritis, migraine, and the relief of procedural
anxiety. In addition, acupuncture has been used to treat a range of problems associated with cancer and cancer treatments,
such as hot flashes, chronic fatigue, neuropathy, nausea and vomiting, xerostomia, and dysphagia. Needle stimulation causing
a typical needle sensation has been claimed to be important for reaching maximum effects on pain. Acupuncture points in the
cutaneous nerve can be used to reduce pain, vomiting and nausea and to treat depression. Cancer treatment can also be used
to reduce other effects such as xerostomia and sensory impairment. According to a study, acupuncture treatment was found
to be effective in pain control in cancer, acupuncture alone was not better than standard drug treatment, but acupuncture
and drug therapy combination was significantly more effective than drug treatment alone. In another study, standard pain
treatment with hand-foot acupuncture was compared in terms of side effects and analgesic efficacy in patients with liver cancer.
Acupuncture has resulted in a longer analgesic effect without any side effects. Literature reviews indicate that acupuncture
is effective in pain management and it has no side effects. On the other hand, inadequate number of randomized controlled
trials and the fact that studies are performed on fewer patients and the short follow-up time lead to an inaccurate explanation
of the effectiveness of acupuncture. We think that there is not enough research about acupuncture on cancer and that more
randomized controlled trials are needed.
Biography
Emel Mete graduated from Istanbul University Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Department in 2007. She is pursuing her Master Program in Physiotherapy and
Rehabilitation Department at Marmara University. She is also a research assistant at the same department.
e_emel86@hotmail.comEmel Mete et al., J Cancer Sci Ther 2017, 9:9(Suppl)
DOI: 10.4172/1948-5956-C1-112