Acupuncture for Cancer Symptoms: What the Evidence Supports

This page is for people with cancer who are thinking about acupuncture for symptoms. It covers what the research shows, how safe it is, and when to get help.

Acupuncture means putting thin needles into set points on the body. It began in traditional Chinese medicine. Today it is one of the best-studied add-on therapies in cancer care.

Nausea and vomiting from chemo. NCI says the strongest evidence is for nausea caused by chemotherapy. The same is true of acupressure, a related technique. Both are used alongside standard anti-nausea medicine, not in place of it.

Pain. NCCIH reports a study of 226 people with breast cancer. Those who had acupuncture twice a week for 6 weeks had less joint pain from aromatase-inhibitor hormone therapy than those who had sham or no acupuncture. NCI calls results for other kinds of cancer pain mixed but promising. NCCIH says acupuncture was not more effective than drug therapy for cancer pain.

Hot flashes. Hot flashes are common with hormone therapy for breast and prostate cancer. Some studies show acupuncture makes them less frequent or less severe. Other studies find no clear difference from control treatments. The evidence is promising but mixed. Results vary from person to person.

Acupuncture is also used for fatigue, anxiety, and other symptoms. The evidence for those uses is less steady. That does not mean it cannot help one person. But the research does not back claims that it helps everyone, for everything.

Serious problems are uncommon when a trained provider uses sterile, single-use needles. Most reported problems are linked to acupuncture done poorly. They include infection and bleeding. Rarely, a needle injures an organ or a nerve nearby.

Two situations call for care. Talk to your oncology team first.

• Low blood counts. Low platelets, called thrombocytopenia, raise the risk of bruising or bleeding from the needle. Low white blood cell counts, called neutropenia, raise the risk of infection from any break in the skin. Some care teams suggest waiting until counts recover. Others ask the acupuncturist to change technique.
• Lymphedema risk. Lymphedema is swelling from a buildup of lymph fluid. You may have it in an arm or leg. Or you may be at risk for it after lymph node removal or radiation. Many practitioners avoid that limb because of infection concerns. One who knows lymphedema can usually work elsewhere on the body. Check with your oncology or lymphedema team first. Tell the acupuncturist which limb is affected or at risk.

Ask your cancer center if it has an integrative medicine service that offers acupuncture. Those providers already know these cancer-specific cautions.

• Call 911 or go to an emergency department if you get sharp chest pain or find it hard to breathe in the hours after needles were placed in the chest, upper back, or shoulder. A punctured organ is a rare but real complication of badly placed needles. Do not drive yourself.
• Call your care team right away, day or night, if your temperature reaches 100.4°F (38°C) or higher. This applies while you are having chemotherapy or any other treatment that lowers your blood counts. CDC calls a fever at this point a medical emergency, not a next-morning phone call. If you cannot reach your team quickly, go to an emergency department. Tell the staff straight away that you are on cancer treatment.
• Call your care team the same day if a needle site turns red, hot, or swollen, or leaks pus. A skin infection matters more when your white cell count is low.
• Call your care team the same day if you notice new numbness, weakness, or shooting pain that started after a session and has not settled.
• Call your care team within a day or two if a needle site keeps bleeding, or bruises much more than you would expect. That can be a sign your platelets are lower than the acupuncturist assumed.

• NCCIH — Acupuncture: Effectiveness and Safety
• CDC — Watch Out for Fever (Preventing Infections in Cancer Patients)
• NCI — Acupuncture (PDQ), Patient Version