Conclusion The evidence is limited to suggest moxibustion is an effective supportive cancer care in nausea and vomiting .
Background Moxibustion is a traditional Chinese method that uses the heat generated by burning herbal preparations containing Artemisia vulgaris to stimulate acupuncture points .
Considering moxibustion is closely related to acupuncture , it seems pertinent to evaluate the effectiveness of moxibustion as a treatment of symptoms of cancer .
The objective of this review was to systematic ally assess the effectiveness of moxibustion for supportive cancer care .
Do certain countries produce only positive results? A systematic review of controlled trials.
OBJECTIVE To determine whether clinical trials originating in certain countries always have positive results . DATA SOURCES Abstract s of trials from Medline ( January 1966-June 1995 ) . STUDY SELECTION Two separate studies were conducted . The first included trials in which the clinical outcome of a group of subjects receiving acupuncture  was compared to that of a group receiving placebo , no treatment , or a nonacupuncture intervention . In the second study , r and omized or controlled trials of interventions other than  acupuncture  that were published in China , Japan , Russia/USSR , or Taiwan were compared to those published in Engl and . DATA EXTRACTION Blinded review ers determined inclusion and outcome and separately classified each trial by country of origin . DATA SYNTHESIS In the study of acupuncture  trials , 252 of 1085 abstract s met the inclusion criteria . Research conducted in certain countries was uniformly favorable to acupuncture ; all trials originating in China , Japan , Hong Kong , and Taiwan were positive , as were 10 out of 11 of those published in Russia/USSR . In studies that examined interventions other than acupuncture , 405 of 1100 abstract s met the inclusion criteria . Of trials published in Engl and , 75 % gave the test treatment as superior to control . The results for China , Japan , Russia/USSR , and Taiwan were 99 % , 89 % , 97 % , and 95 % , respectively . No trial published in China or Russia/USSR found a test treatment to be ineffective . CONCLUSIONS Some countries publish unusually high proportions of positive results . Publication bias is a possible explanation . Research ers undertaking systematic review s should consider carefully how to manage data from these countries
Conclusion The evidence is limited to suggest moxibustion is an effective supportive cancer care in nausea and vomiting .
Background Moxibustion is a traditional Chinese method that uses the heat generated by burning herbal preparations containing Artemisia vulgaris to stimulate acupuncture points .
Considering moxibustion is closely related to acupuncture , it seems pertinent to evaluate the effectiveness of moxibustion as a treatment of symptoms of cancer .
The objective of this review was to systematic ally assess the effectiveness of moxibustion for supportive cancer care .