Acupuncture for Dysphagia After Chemoradiation Therapy in Head and Neck Cancer: A Case Series Report

作者：Lu Weidong^*; Posner Marshall R; Wayne Peter; Rosenthal David S; Haddad Robert I

来源：Integrative Cancer Therapies, 2010, 9(3): 284-290.

DOI：10.1177/1534735410378856

• acupuncture
• chemoradiation therapy
• radiation therapy
• head and neck cancer
• dysphagia
• percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tube

Background: Dysphagia is a common side effect following chemoradiation therapy (CRT) in patients with head and neck cancer (HNC). Methods: In this retrospective case series, 10 patients with HNC were treated with acupuncture for radiation-induced dysphagia and xerostomia. All patients were diagnosed with stage III/IV squamous cell carcinoma. In all, 7 of 10 patients were percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tube dependent when they began acupuncture. Manual acupuncture and electroacupuncture were used once a week. Results: A total of 9 of 10 patients reported various degrees of subjective improvement in swallowing functions, xerostomia, pain, and fatigue levels. Overall, 6 (86%) of 7 PEG tube-dependent patients had their feeding tubes removed after acupuncture, with a median duration of 114 days (range 49 to 368 days) post CRT. One typical case is described in detail. Conclusions: A relatively short PEG tube duration and reduced symptom severity following CRT were observed in these patients. Formal clinical trials are required to determine the causality of the observations.

• 出版日期2010-9