Acupressure Improves Quality of Life During Radiotherapy for Head and Neck Cancer: Study
Researchers have found in a recent study that traditional and auricular acupressure improved physical, psychological, social, environmental, and overall quality of life in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) undergoing radiotherapy. The intervention was well tolerated with no significant adverse events, suggesting it may be a safe, low-risk supportive therapy. However, larger randomized controlled trials with longer follow-up are needed to confirm its benefits and establish optimal treatment protocols.
Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and its treatment can significantly impair patients’ quality of life due to physical, psychological, and social burdens associated with radiotherapy. Supportive therapies that reduce treatment-related symptoms and improve well-being are increasingly relevant in cancer care. In this randomized clinical trial, we investigated whether traditional acupuncture combined with auricular acupressure could improve quality of life in patients with HNSCC undergoing radiotherapy.
A total of 107 patients were included and evaluated using the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire before and after treatment. Patients receiving acupuncture demonstrated improvements in physical, psychological, social, environmental, and overall quality-of-life domains, while patients without acupuncture generally showed deterioration across these measures during radiotherapy. No significant adverse events were observed. These findings suggest that acupuncture may represent a safe and supportive complementary intervention for improving quality of life during cancer treatment. However, further studies are needed to confirm long-term benefits and mechanisms of action.
They aimed to investigate the effects of traditional acupuncture combined with auricular acupressure on quality of life in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma undergoing radiotherapy.
This is a two-arm, parallel, randomized clinical trial with blinded outcome assessment. The study population comprised 107 patients (55 without intervention and 52 with intervention). Data were collected at Dilson Godinho Hospital in Brazil from March 2017 to June 2018, and all patients provided informed consent.
Patients in the intervention group received traditional and auricular acupressure in weekly sessions during their radiotherapy treatment, and patients in the control group received no acupuncture. In addition, quality-of-life assessment data were collected using the WHOQOL-BREF instrument.
Analysis of the scores obtained in the WHOQOL-BREF before and after radiotherapy demonstrated that the use of traditional and auricular acupressure had a positive impact on physical, psychological, social, environmental, and overall quality of life. Conclusions: Our findings suggest benefits and provide a context for patients and physicians to decide if acupuncture is a desirable treatment option. However, further studies are required to understand the therapy’s effectiveness better.
Referenece:
Menezes ASdS, Sanches GLG, Durães CP, Fonseca LL, Santos SGC, Filho AdPS, Silveira MF, Costa AdA, Ruas GSdS, Santos SHS, et al. Acupuncture to Improve Quality of Life in Patients with Head and Neck Cancer: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Cancers. 2026; 18(13):2132.https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers18132132
