Acupuncture for chemotherapy-induced dysgeusia (AcuDysg): a randomized controlled trial

The study investigated the effectiveness of dysgeusia-specific acupuncture combined with self-acupressure compared to supportive acupuncture and self-acupressure for chemotherapy-induced dysgeusia in cancer patients with cancer-related fatigue (CRF) and dysgeusia.

This multicenter, randomized, controlled, two-armed parallel-group, single-blind trial included cancer patients with CRF and dysgeusia during chemotherapy. All participants received CRF treatment consisting of eight acupuncture sessions over 8 weeks and had access to an eLearning course for self-acupressure. Patients in the intervention group received additional dysgeusia-specific acupuncture treatment and an eLearning with instructions to acupressure points, whereas the control group received an intervention focused solely on addressing CRF. The main outcome was perceived dysgeusia over 8 weeks, measured weekly after each acupuncture session on a numeric rating scale from 1 to 10. Other outcomes included taste and smell tests, and assessments of perceived dysgeusia, fatigue, distress, and quality of life. Due to a small sample size, results can be only judged exploratory. The study was approved by the Cantonal Ethics Committee (CEC) (Kanton Zürich Kantonale Ethikkommission) (approval no. KEK-ZH-Nr. 2020-01900).

Since we included only twenty-one patients (11 intervention, 10 control, 90% female) instead of the target sample size of 130, no confirmatory effectiveness analyses were conducted. All participants showed a substantial decrease in dysgeusia over time, regardless of treatment type (estimated mean reduction per session - 0.30; 95% CI - 0.43 to - 0.18), reflecting a 0.30-point reduction per session. Quality of life and cancer-related fatigue improved over time. The exploratory analyses did not show substantial differences between groups in any outcomes. No serious adverse events occurred.

Exploratory findings showed no substantial differences between the study groups in perceived dysgeusia, but both study groups improved over time.

DRKS00023348 at 03.11.2020, SNCTP000004128.