Treatment Alternative and High Safety Profile of Acupuncture Plus Chemotherapy for Advanced Gastric Cancer

Objective. The aim of this study is to evaluate the safety and tumor marker level changes of acupuncture plus chemotherapy (FOLFOX4) for advanced gastric cancer. Methods. One hundred and twenty patients with advanced gastric cancer who were treated at our hospital between May 2019 and April 2021 were recruited for prospective analysis, and all patients were allocated to the control and experimental groups in a 1 : 1 ratio using the random number table method, with 60 patients in each group. They received either chemotherapy using the FOLFOX4 regimen (control group) or the FOLFOX4 chemotherapy plus acupuncture (experimental group). Outcome measures included tumor marker levels, quality of life, and adverse events. Results. Before treatment, the two groups showed similar tumor markers levels and the MOS 36-item short-form health survey (SF-36) scores (P>0.05). FOLFOX4 chemotherapy plus acupuncture was associated with significantly lower levels of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), carbohydrate antigen (CA) 19-9, and CA72-4 versus FOLFOX4 chemotherapy alone (P