Huda A. Anshasi
University of Jordan, Jordan
Title: An assessment of methodological quality of systematic reviews of acupuncture and related therapies for cancer-related pain
Biography
Biography: Huda A. Anshasi
Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to summarize and evaluate the methodological quality of systematic reviews and meta-analyses papers on the acupuncture and related therapies for management of cancer-related pain.
Methods: A comprehensive search on multiple databases was performed using Assessing the Methodological Quality of Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR).
Results: Fourteen systematic reviews published between 2005 and 2017 were eligible for inclusion. The consensus across the included reviews was that acupuncture and related therapies alone did not have superior pain-relieving effects as compared with analgesic administration using various validated pain scales. However, as compared with analgesic administration alone, acupuncture and related therapies plus analgesics resulted in reduced cancer related-pain.
Conclusion: The study findings emphasized that acupuncture and related therapies alone did not have clinically significant effects at cancer-related pain reduction as compared with analgesic administration alone. Clinicians may consider acupuncture and related therapies as adjunctive therapies for cancer-related pain management, in particular, when pain control is unsatisfactory under analgesics alone. Furthermore, the researchers should conduct the SRs and meta-analyses according to the AMSTAR and PRISMA. (Up to 250 words)
Keywords: Cancer-related pain, Patients with cancer, A systematic literature review, Meta-analyses.