Ultrasound Acupuncture for Oxaliplatin-induced Peripheral Neuropathy in Patients With Colorectal Cancer: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Background: Oxaliplatin is frequently used in the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer. However, peripheral neuropathy is a severe adverse effect of oxaliplatin that may persist and impact quality of life.

Objective: To assess the potential effects of ultrasound acupuncture for the alleviation of symptoms related to oxaliplatin-induced peripheral neuropathy (OIPN) among patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.

Design: Prospective cohort pilot study.

Setting: Education and research hospital.

Participants: Patients with a diagnosis of stage II-IV colorectal cancer undergoing oxaliplatin-based treatment regimens who experienced OIPN symptoms (n = 17).

Interventions: Pulsed therapeutic ultrasound (1 MHz) at bilateral acupuncture points of PC6, PC7, BL60, and KI1 was administered for 5 minutes per point daily for 12 days.

Main outcome measurements: Pain Quality Assessment Scale (PQAS), Chemotherapy-induced Neurotoxicity Questionnaire (CINQ), quantitative touch-detection threshold, cold-trigger pain withdrawal latency, and quality of life (EORTC QLQ-C30) were measured at baseline (day 0), pre-intervention (day 12, post wash-out period), post-intervention (day 24), and final follow-up (day 54). A P value of less than .05 was considered statistically significant.

Results: Scores of PQAS and CINQ significantly improved after ultrasound acupuncture at post-intervention and follow-up compared to both baseline and pre-intervention. Similar trends were also observed for the quantitative sensory testing, where touch-detection threshold significantly decreased and cold-trigger pain withdrawal latency significantly increased after ultrasound acupuncture. Patients also showed an improvement on quality of life outcomes as measured by QLQ-C30 post-intervention and at follow-up.

Conclusions: Ultrasound acupuncture could be an effective intervention for OIPN symptoms for patients with colorectal cancer. However, larger and randomized clinical trials with placebo controls are needed to confirm such effects.