Submited on: 08 Feb 2011 04:41:12 PM GMT
Published on: 09 Feb 2011 04:51:01 PM GMT
 
Review of Menopausal Symptom Management With Acupuncture For Women With Breast Cancer
Posted by Mr. Jessin Joseph on 01 Nov 2017 10:24:49 PM GMT Reviewed by Interested Peers

  • What are the main claims of the paper and how important are they?

    The main claims are women with menopausal symtpoms status post breast cancer treatment who underwent acupuncture
    versus women who recieved educational materials and health life activities recommendations experienced a greater reduction
    in hot flashes. Between the groups, there was not a significant difference in average quality of life scores and average ovarian
    hormone measurements across time.


  • Are these claims novel? If not, please specify papers that weaken the claims to the originality of this one.

    These claims do not appear to be novel. There have been a few articles that examine the same intervention (acupuncture) for
    vasomotor symptom management in women diagnosed with breast cancer.


    De valois BA, Young TE, Robinson N, Mccourt C, Maher EJ. Using traditional acupuncture for breast cancer­related hot flashes
    and night sweats. J Altern Complement Med. 2010;16(10):1047­57.


    Walker EM, Rodriguez AI, Kohn B, et al. Acupuncture versus venlafaxine for the management of vasomotor symptoms in
    patients with hormone receptor­positive breast cancer: a randomized controlled trial. J Clin Oncol. 2010;28(4):634­40.


  • Are the claims properly placed in the context of the previous literature?

    Yes. The authors acknowledge their claims are not novel and they provide citations to other studies that examine the same
    topic the authors address.


  • Do the results support the claims? If not, what other evidence is required?

    The results support the claims of the authors. More evidence could be used with a validation of their tests, specifically the
    survey they use to assess hot flash frequency.


  • If a protocol is provided, for example for a randomized controlled trial, are there any important deviations from it? If so, have the authors explained adequately why the deviations occurred?

    No specific protocol was provided.


  • Is the methodology valid? Does the paper offer enough details of its methodology that its experiments or its analyses could be reproduced?

    While they did acknowledge there was a high drop out rate in their control group, they did continue to do their analyses via
    intention to treat. I would have also liked to see a protocol or better explanation of acupuncture sites that have been known
    for vasomotor symptom management.


  • Would any other experiments or additional information improve the paper? How much better would the paper be if this extra work was done, and how difficult would such work be to do, or to provide?

    The paper could have used a detailed explanation as to why they used a placebo group and a control group. Most studies use
    placebo groups as their control and it may have been more beneficial to compare the two groups between each other.


  • Is this paper outstanding in its discipline? (For example, would you like to see this work presented in a seminar at your hospital or university? Do you feel these results need to be incorporated in your next general lecture on the subject?) If yes, what makes it outstanding? If not, why not?

    I believe this is already practiced in medicine. Complementary medicine is recommended and utilized especially in areas of
    medicine where there is not a lot of literature and knowledge.


  • Other Comments:

    I thought the write up of the article itself needed some improvement. The introduction was dogged down with multiple studies
    and the results of those studies. I failed to see a discussion section where alternative studies could be more examined. I also
    would have liked to see a clearer logical flow for the study. The objective was stated in the methods and came in a place that
    was unexpected.

  • Competing interests:
    .
  • Invited by the author to review this article? :
    No
  • Have you previously published on this or a similar topic?:
    No
  • References:

    .

  • Experience and credentials in the specific area of science:

    Pharmacist

  • How to cite:  Joseph J .Review of Menopausal Symptom Management With Acupuncture For Women With Breast Cancer[Review of the article 'Menopausal Symptom Management With Acupuncture For Women With Breast Cancer ' by Kern II J].WebmedCentral 2017;8(11):WMCRW003382
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1 Is the subject of the article within the scope of the subject category? Yes
2 Are the interpretations / conclusions sound and justified by the data? Yes
3 Is this a new and original contribution? No
4 Does this paper exemplify an awareness of other research on the topic? Yes
5 Are structure and length satisfactory? Yes
6 Can you suggest brief additions or amendments or an introductory statement that will increase the value of this paper for an international audience? No
7 Can you suggest any reductions in the paper, or deletions of parts? No
8 Is the quality of the diction satisfactory? Yes
9 Are the illustrations and tables necessary and acceptable? Yes
10 Are the references adequate and are they all necessary? Yes
11 Are the keywords and abstract or summary informative? Yes
  • Other Comments:

    There are recently 4 papers relevant sources of information:

     

    1: Loibl S, Lintermans A, Dieudonné AS, Neven P. Management of menopausal
    symptoms in breast cancer patients. Maturitas. 2011 Feb;68(2):148-54. Epub 2010
    Dec 23. Review. PubMed PMID: 21185135.


    2: de Valois BA, Young TE, Robinson N, McCourt C, Maher EJ. Using traditional
    acupuncture for breast cancer-related hot flashes and night sweats. J Altern
    Complement Med. 2010 Oct;16(10):1047-57. PubMed PMID: 20954961.


    3: Kang HS, Jeong D, Kim DI, Lee MS. The use of acupuncture for managing
    gynaecologic conditions: An overview of systematic reviews. Maturitas. 2011
    Apr;68(4):346-54. Epub 2011 Mar 3. PubMed PMID: 21376483.


    4: Warnecke E. What works? Evidence for lifestyle and nonprescription therapies
    in menopause. Aust Fam Physician. 2011 May;40(5):286-9. PubMed PMID: 21597545.
  • Competing interests:
    None.
  • Invited by the author to review this article? :
    No
  • Have you previously published on this or a similar topic?:
    No
  • References:
    Bill D. Misner Placebo May Be A Medicine 6 Dec 2002
  • Experience and credentials in the specific area of science:

    Bill D. Misner Ph.D.   Breast Cancer Hormone Profile: Is there a simple answer in plain view?
     (4 June 2004).  Janice Hopkins Tanne Daily aspirin reduces risk of breast cancer, study finds,

    http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/eletters/328/7452/1336-c

     

    Bill D. Misner Ph.D.

    Cancer Risk From Synergistic Dietary Interventions

    bmj.com, 24 Mar 2002 [Full text]

    http://bmj.com/cgi/eletters/324/7339/714#20796

     

    "Nutritional Interventions for Reducing the Negative Side Effects of Chemotherapy."

    http://www.cancure.org/Chemo_support.htm

    http://www.cancure.org/help_side_effects.htm

     

    Bill Misner Ph.D.

    Are The Risks Of Hormone Therapy Explained?

    10 Apr 2002 [Full text]. http://bmj.com/cgi/eletters/324/7341/827#21174

  • How to cite:  Misner B .Menopausal Symptom Management With Acupuncture For Women With Breast Cancer [Review of the article 'Menopausal Symptom Management With Acupuncture For Women With Breast Cancer ' by Kern II J].WebmedCentral 2017;2(9):WMCRW00929
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