[Treatment of chemotherapy-induced leukocytopenia with acupuncture and moxibustion].

Abstract

The effects of acupuncture and moxibustion on 376 cases of chemotherapy-induced leukocytopenia was observed in patients with malignant tumors in the intermediary and advanced stages. Findings revealed that the total effect in 121 cases (88.4%) occurred in the group treated with acupuncture and moxibustion with warming needle; while the total effect in 221 cases (90.9%) was in the group treated with moxibustion with ignited moxa cone. A comparison made between the 2 groups showed no significant difference (P greater than 0.05). The total effective rate was 38.2% when compared with the control group using batylalcohol and pentoxyl and so the difference was significant (P less than 0.01). Analysis found that with patients having higher basic WBC value, the effect would be higher. Conversely, those who had lower basic value in their WBCs, the expected effect would be lower. These findings suggest that acupuncture and moxibustion in raising the effect on the white cells were influenced by the extent to which the bone marrow was inhibited, having no relevance to the kind of disease, the chemotherapy regime, and the treatment course which the patient was in.