Can acupuncture treat radiation-induced xerostomia following radiotherapy for head and neck cancer?

Acupuncture may be effective in patients with chronic radiation-induced xerostomia following treatment for head and neck cancer, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open.

In the study, researchers randomly assigned 258 patients with grade 2 or 3 radiation-induced xerostomia that developed within 12 months of bilateral radiotherapy to receive either true acupuncture, sham acupuncture or standard oral hygiene between July 29, 2013, and June 9, 2021. They examined xerostomia and quality-of-life outcomes using the Xerostomia Questionnaire and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy–General at baseline and after four, eight, 12 and 26 weeks.

After a follow-up of four weeks, the researchers found that the patients who received true acupuncture had lower xerostomia scores compared with those who received sham acupuncture and standard oral hygiene. There were no statistically significant differences in xerostomia improvement between the patients who received true acupuncture and sham acupuncture after adjusting for multiple comparisons. However, true acupuncture was found to offer statistically significant improvements in quality-of-life scores compared with standard oral hygiene at four weeks as well as compared with standard oral hygiene and sham acupuncture) at 12 weeks.

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