Acupuncture helps Fatigue in Cancer Survivors with Chronic Pain

Acupuncture helps Fatigue in Cancer Survivors

Acupuncture helps fatigue in cancer survivors with chronic musculoskeletal pain, providing them with clinically meaningful and long-lasting improvements.

American researchers lead by the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, conducted a secondary analysis of data from a trial originally designed to assess the effects of auricular (ear) acupuncture and electroacupuncture, versus waiting list control. A total of 274 participants with moderate to severe fatigue, were randomised to 10 weekly acupuncture sessions of either type, or to waiting list control. Assessments were made at weeks 12 and 24. Clinically meaningful improvements in fatigue were made by 61% of electroacupuncture patients, 52% of auricular acupuncture patients, and 37% of those in the waiting list control group.

The study authors suggest that with benefits extending to six months, acupuncture is a valuable evidence-based option for cancer patients with both fatigue and pain.

(Effect of acupuncture on fatigue in cancer survivors with chronic pain: a secondary analysis. Supportive Care in Cancer, 13 December 2025.)

Author: Robin Costello

I offer traditional Chinese acupuncture in Exeter, from a tranquil clinic a mile from the city centre, and next to the University of Exeter. I graduated originally from the London School of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine’s 3 year full time Acupuncture Diploma (DipAc) course. I am on the practitioners register of the British Acupuncture Council (MBAcC), a regulatory and professional body with an entry standard of a full three year undergraduate degree level training. I have worked in a hospital in south west China, deepening my knowledge and using acupuncture and Chinese massage (tuina) as the treatment of choice in its country of origin. I have taught Chinese medicine in colleges, the NHS and at university level. I also practise Qi Gong, and Chinese dietary therapy, that is the medicinal use of ordinary foods, chosen to help achieve particular therapeutic effects in different individuals.