Acupuncture and moxibustion in patients with cancer-related insomnia: A systematic review and network meta-analysis

Cancer-related insomnia (CRI) is one of the most common and serious symptoms in patients with cancer. Acupuncture and moxibustion have been widely applied in the treatment of CRI. Nevertheless, the comparative efficacy and safety of different acupuncture and moxibustion techniques remain unclear. This study aimed to evaluate and compare the efficacy and safety of different acupuncture and moxibustion techniques in the treatment of CRI.

Eight medical databases were comprehensively searched for relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) as of June 2022. Two independent reviewers assessed the risk of bias and conducted the research selection, data extraction, and quality assessment of the included RCTs. A network meta-analysis (NMA) was performed using frequency models, combining all available direct and indirect evidence from RCTs. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was set as the primary outcome, and adverse events and effective rates were set as the secondary outcomes. The efficacy rate was calculated as the ratio of patients with insomnia symptom relief to the total number of patients.

Thirty-one RCTs with 3,046 participants were included, including 16 acupuncture- and moxibustion-related therapies. Transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation [surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA) 85.7%] and acupuncture and moxibustion (SUCRA 79.1%) were more effective than Western medicine, routine care, and placebo-sham acupuncture. Furthermore, Western medicine showed significantly better effects than placebo-sham acupuncture. In the NMA, the acupuncture and moxibustion treatments with the best therapeutic effects for CRI were transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (SUCRA 85.7%), acupuncture and moxibustion (SUCRA 79.1%), auricular acupuncture (SUCRA 62.9%), routine care combined with intradermal needling (SUCRA 55.0%), and intradermal needling alone (SUCRA 53.3%). No serious acupuncture- or moxibustion-related adverse events were reported in the included studies.

Acupuncture and moxibustion are effective and relatively safe in treating CRI. The relatively conservative recommended order of acupuncture- and moxibustion-related therapies for CRI is as follows: transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation, acupuncture and moxibustion, and auricular acupuncture. However, the methodological quality of the included studies was generally poor, and further high-quality RCTs are needed to strengthen the evidence base.