EFFECT OF AURICULOACUPUNCTURE ON LIFE QUALITY OF PATIENTS WITH MALIGNANT TUMORS

Abstract

The prognosis of malignant tumor includes the patient’s life quality and life expectancy after the diagnosis of the tumor. How to improve the patients’ life quality is one of the important issues to be addressed in clinical practice. Since 1995, we have carried out a randomized controlled study and examined the effects of auriculoacupuncture accompanied by conventional medication on the life quality of patients with malignant tumors. Sixty cases were selected from Hubei hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine. All cases were diagnosed and confirmed by the Oncology Department of the hospital. These patients were randomly assigned to a group treated by auriculoacupuncture accompanied by conventional medication (n=30) and a control group treated by conventional medication only (n=30). Acupuncture points selected were shenmen, adrenal, endocrine, sympathetic, spleen, kidney, and the ear points corresponding to the tumor organ. Two points of the helix were selected as the sham acupuncture points. Stainless steel needles were applied for 30 minutes. The life quality of each patient was assessed before and after the treatment. This assessment was consisted of twelve factors: the patients’ psychosis, appetite, sleep, countenance, fatigue, pain, side effects of conventional medication, understanding and cooperation of colleagues and family members, self recognition of cancer, daily life, and the attitude toward the treatment. Each factor was graded from 1 to 5, from the worst to the best, respectively. The grades from all twelve factors were summed up to a total score of the individual patient in the two groups. When compared with the patients in the control group, the patients treated with auriculoacupuncture and conventional medication had significantly higher scores for psychosis, appetite, sleep, pain, and side effects of conventional medication (p<0.05: the patient’s psychosis, appetite, pain or p<0.01: sleep and side effects of conventional medication) after treatment than before treatment, whereas in the control group these scores did not vary much before and after treatment The result indicates that auriculoacupuncture accompanied by conventional medication can effectively improve the life quality of patients with malignant tumors.