Efficacy Study of Acupuncture to Treat the Upper Abdominal Pain of Cancer Patients
Efficacy Study of Acupuncture to Treat the Upper Abdominal Pain of Cancer Patients
This study is to investigate the effectiveness of acupuncture for alleviating the upper
 abdominal pain of cancer patients
Neurolytic celiac plexus block (NCPB) is a commonly performed procedure in patients with
 intractable pain due to malignancies involving the upper and mid abdomen. Recently,
 acupuncture is used as one of alternative interventions to treat cancer-related pains. This
 pilot study aims to investigate the effectiveness of pain-relief of acupuncture via comparing
 acupuncture plus NCPB with NCPB alone. Total 14 cancer patients with NCPB will be randomized
 into two groups of acupuncture and control.
Inclusion Criteria:

 -  Age over 18 years

 -  Upper abdominal pain VAS ≥ 5

 -  Unresectable abdominal malignancy, moderate or severe abdominal pain poorly controlled
 with pharmacotherapy.

 -  All patients had advanced cancer diagnosed by histological/cytological examination

 -  Follow-up possible during the clinical trial

 -  Written informed consent voluntarily

 Exclusion Criteria:

 -  Patient with uncorrectable coagulopathy

 -  Patient with allergy to local anesthesics or alcohol..

 -  Previous NCPB or had implanted epidural or intrathecal analgesic therapy

 -  Inability to lie prone

 -  Disease encasing the celiac plexus on computed Tomography scan

 -  Patients with psychiatric diseases that could have affected the study assessments

 -  Significant renal or hepatic disease

 -  Inability to comprehend or express oneself in the Korean language

 -  Refusal to participate in the trial or to provide informed consent