Effect of Grain-sized Moxibustion on Cancer-related Fatigue and Quality of Life in Patients with Malignant Tumor / 上海针灸杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To observe the clinical efficacy of grain-sized moxibustion in treating cancer-related fatigue and improving the quality of life of patients with malignant tumor. Method Forty-six patients with malignant tumor were randomized into a grain-sized moxibustion group and a control group. The grain-sized moxibustion group received grain-sized moxibustion plus regular treatment, while the control group received the regular treatment only. The cancer-related fatigue intensity [Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS), European Organization for Research on Treatment of Cancer Core Quality-of-life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30), Piper Fatigue Scale (PFS)], white blood cell count, hemoglobin level, lymphocyte count, and neutrophil count were compared before and after treatment between the two groups. The correlation between cancer-related fatigue and the observed indexes was also analyzed. Result The grain-sized moxibustion group was better than the control group in mitigating the cancer-related fatigue, up-regulating hemoglobin level, and improving the symptoms (P<0.05). Conclusion Grain-sized moxibustion can effectively mitigate cancer-related fatigue via improving anemia condition and the symptoms of malignant tumor patients, and it can also enhance the quality of life of the patients.