Acupuncture helps chemo-induced neuropathy ie peripheral neuropathy caused as a side-effect of chemotherapy, according to researchers from the Christie NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Manchester. In a pragmatic trial, 108 cancer patients receiving chemotherapy and experiencing neuropathy, were randomised to have ten weeks of either acupuncture plus usual care, or usual care alone. Acupuncture comprised a weekly 40 minute session, whilst usual care was medication with gabapentin, pregabalin and/or amitriptyline.
At week 10, 68% of cases in the acupuncture group were classified as successfully treated, compared with 33% in the control group. Beneficial outcomes seen in the acupuncture group included clinicians’ grading of neuropathy, cancer-related quality of life and patients’ subjective pain scores. The team concludes that the data from this study has corroborated results from a previous evaluation and other smaller studies, confirming that this cohort of participants benefited from the acupuncture they received. The results also suggest that acupuncture can impact the complex symptom burden associated with this condition, not just the pain. However, sustainability of any improvements in symptoms requires longer follow-up.
(A randomised pragmatic clinical trial of ACUpuncture plus standard care versus standard care alone FOr Chemotherapy Induced peripheral Neuropathy ACUFOCIN). European Journal of Oncology Nursing, October 2022.)
Acupuncture helps “chemo neuropathy” symptoms ie peripheral neuropathy associated with chemotherapy treatment of cancer, according to researchers at the Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. A group of 168 participants were enrolled in a pragmatic trial, and treated in accordance with their preferences for either acupuncture and complementary & integrative medicine, or standard care alone as a control. Patients in the intervention arm were randomised to receive either twice-weekly acupuncture for six weeks, or acupuncture plus manual movement or mind-body therapy.
German researchers at the University Medical Center, Hamburg-Eppendorf, have found that acupuncture improves nerve regeneration in chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy. The progress is measurable both in terms of subjective reporting by patients, and objective neurological findings. 
American researchers investigating whether acupuncture helps chemotherapy-induced neuropathy, have conducted a three-arm randomised trial at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York. A group of 75 cancer patients were recruited. All had completed chemotherapy at least three months prior, and were experiencing moderate to severe neuropathy in the form of numbness, tingling or pain. Patients were randomly assigned to either real acupuncture, sham acupuncture or usual care. Acupuncture was given in the form of ten sessions over eight weeks, and biweekly for the first fortnight.