Meta-Analysis
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World J Meta-Anal. Apr 28, 2022; 10(2): 52-62
Published online Apr 28, 2022. doi: 10.13105/wjma.v10.i2.52
Different methods of acupuncture for relief of pain due to liver cancer: A network meta-analysis
Hong-Yuan Mou, Jing Chen, Zuo-Yun Chen, Hong Du
Hong-Yuan Mou, Jing Chen, Zuo-Yun Chen, Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, People’s Hospital of Lichuan, Lichuan 445400, Hubei Province, China
Hong Du, Preventive Treatment Center, Central Hospital of Enshi Prefecture, Enshi 445000, Hubei Province, China
Author contributions: Mou HY and Chen ZY contributed to the conception and design of the study, acquisition, analysis, and interpretation of the data, and drafting the article; Chen J and Du H interpreted the data and revised the article; All authors read and issued final approval of the submitted version.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no conflict of interest to declare.
PRISMA 2009 Checklist statement: The authors have read the PRISMA 2009 Checklist, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the PRISMA 2009 Checklist.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Zuo-Yun Chen, BM BCh, Chief Doctor, Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, People’s Hospital of Lichuan, No. 12 Longchuan Road, Lichuan 445400, Hubei Province, China. 1513588676@qq.com
Received: August 12, 2021
Peer-review started: August 12, 2021
First decision: October 2, 2021
Revised: October 15, 2021
Accepted: March 5, 2022
Article in press: March 5, 2022
Published online: April 28, 2022
Core Tip

Core Tip: Seventy-five percent of patients with liver cancer suffer varying degrees of pain. Pain is widely perceived as the fifth vital sign in cancer patients, which seriously affects the quality of their life and threatens their survival. Acupuncture, part of traditional Chinese medicine, involves the application of needles, heat, pressure, and other treatments at specific sites of the body known as acupoints to affect the physical functions of the body. Numerous studies have concluded that acupuncture may be efficacious in relieving cancer-related pain. However, there is still no direct evidence on which method of acupuncture is more effective. The present study aimed to identify the best method of acupuncture for liver cancer-related pain.