Best acupuncture method for mammary gland hyperplasia: Evaluation of randomized controlled trials and Bayesian network meta-analysis

Zhe He; Liwei Xing; Ming He; Yuhuan Sun; Jinlong Xu; Haina Zhuang; Rui Guo; Hongxi Chen; Kenan Wu; Qinzuo Dong; Guochen Yin; Junbao Zhang; Shun Yu; Xiaoyan Wang; Rong Zhao; Dongdong Qin

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e28831

Best acupuncture method for mammary gland hyperplasia: Evaluation of randomized controlled trials and Bayesian network meta-analysis

Heliyon. 2024 Apr 4;10(8):e28831. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e28831. eCollection 2024 Apr 30.

Authors

Zhe He¹, Liwei Xing², Ming He¹, Yuhuan Sun¹, Jinlong Xu², Haina Zhuang¹, Rui Guo², Hongxi Chen³, Kenan Wu¹, Qinzuo Dong², Guochen Yin¹, Junbao Zhang¹, Shun Yu¹, Xiaoyan Wang⁴, Rong Zhao², Dongdong Qin³

Affiliations

¹ The Second School of Clinical Medicine, Yunnan University of Chinese Medicine, No. 1076 Yuhua Road, Chenggong District, 650500, Kunming, China.
² The First School of Clinical Medicine, Yunnan University of Chinese Medicine, No. 1076 Yuhua Road, Chenggong District, 650500, Kunming, China.
³ School of Basic Medical Sciences, Yunnan University of Chinese Medicine, No. 1076 Yuhua Road, Chenggong District, 650500, Kunming, China.
⁴ Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Yuxi Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, 53 North Nie er Road, 653100, Yuxi, China.

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of different acupuncture treatments for mammary gland hyperplasia (MGH) using a network meta-analysis.

Methods: Several databases were searched without language restrictions from 2000 to February 2023, including PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, China Science and Technology Journal Database, China Biology Medicine Database, Wanfang Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure Database, and other professional websites and gray literature. Inclusion criteria were adult women diagnosed with MGH; intervention measures included acupuncture and related therapies; the control group was treated with simple drugs; and the research type was a randomized controlled trial (RCT). The primary outcomes were treatment effectiveness and estradiol and progesterone levels. Secondary outcomes were breast lump size and visual analog scale (VAS) score of breast pain. Exclusion criteria were studies unrelated to MGH, incorrect study populations, control measures or interventions, incomplete data, non-RCTs, case reports, and animal experiments. Cochrane tools were used to assess the risk of bias. The R software (x64 version 4.2.1), Review Manager 5.3 software and STATA 16.0 software were used for data analysis.

Results: Following a rigorous screening process, data extraction, and quality assessment, 48 eligible RCTs encompassing 4,500 patients with MGH and 16 interventions were included. The results indicated that acupuncture, alone or in combination with traditional Chinese or Western medicine, had better therapeutic effects than conventional therapy. In terms of effectiveness, warm needle acupuncture was the best choice (94.6%). Bloodletting pricking was the most effective method (85.7%) for lowering progesterone levels. Bloodletting pricking was the most effective method (98.3%) for lowering estradiol levels. Manual acupuncture combined with traditional Chinese medicine was the most effective (74.5%) treatment to improve the size of the breast lump. Warm needle acupuncture was the most effective (69.8%) in improving the VAS score.

Conclusion: Acupuncture therapy was more effective in treating MGH than drug therapy alone, and warm needle acupuncture and bloodletting pricking were the two best options. However, larger sample sizes and high-quality RCTs are required.

Keywords: Acupuncture; Effectiveness; Mammary gland hyperplasia; Network meta-analysis.