Purpose A pilot study to document changes in symptoms after acupuncture or nurse-led supportive care in patients with incurable cancer. Methods Patients receiving palliative care with estimated survival of at least 3 months were screened with the Edmonton Symptom Assessment

Acupunct Med 2011;29:173–179. doi:10.1136/aim.2011.004044 173 Abstract Purpose A pilot study to document changes in symptoms after acupuncture or nurse-led supportive care in patients with incurable cancer. Methods Patients receiving palliative care with estimated survival of at least 3 months were screened with the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS). Patients (n=20) with signifi cant symptoms were randomised to receive weekly acupuncture or nurse-led supportive care for 4 weeks. ESAS scores were obtained before and after each treatment, and weekly for 6 weeks after treatment by telephone. Results 42 of 170 patients screened were eligible. 20 gave consent for recruitment. The compliance rate was 90% for acupuncture and 80% for nurseled supportive care. Total symptom scores were reduced by an average of 22% after each acupuncture visit and by 14% after each supportive care visit. Compared with baseline, ESAS scores at the end of the follow-up period were reduced by 19% for the acupuncture arm and 26% for nurse-led supportive care. Conclusion Patients appear to benefi t from incorporating acupuncture in the treatment of advanced incurable cancer. Acupuncture was well tolerated with no signifi cant or unexpected side effects. Acupuncture had an immediate effect on all symptoms, whereas nurse-led supportive care had a larger impact 6 weeks after the fi nal session. Both interventions appear helpful to this population and warrant further study.