Transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation for alleviating pain in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths globally, with a five-year survival rate of only 5%.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is often fatal because of the lack of specific early symptoms and effective early screening tools. Therefore, 80%-85% of patients are usually diagnosed in the advanced stages. This study aimed to investigate the analgesic effect of transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer.

Eighty patients with advanced pancreatic cancer were recruited from the Integrative Medicine Department of our hospital between June 2017 and October 2018 and randomly divided into the experimental group ( n = 40) and the control group ( n = 40). The experimental group received transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation combined with analgesic medication for 3 consecutive days, while the control group received only analgesic medication. The pain scores of the two groups before and after intervention were compared.

The mean pain severity score was significantly lower in the experimental group than in the control group on day 1 ( P < 0.001), day 2 ( P < 0.001), day 3 ( P = 0.005), and day 4 ( P = 0.043).

Transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation therapy effectively alleviates the pain of patients with advanced pancreatic cancer with a high degree of safety and minimal adverse effects, and is worthy of clinical application.