Abstract P4-08-01: Effectiveness of electroacupuncture versus auricular acupuncture in breast cancer survivors with chronic musculoskeletal pain: The PEACE randomized clinical trial
Authors: Zhi Wanqing Iris , Mao Jun J , Baser Raymond E , Li Susan Q , Blinder Vicotria S , Norton Larry , Seidman Andrew D , Robson Mark E , Bao Ting 
Published: March 2022

Introduction: Chronic musculoskeletal pain is common and debilitating among breast cancer survivors. Recently, the Personalized Electroacupuncture (EA) versus Auricular Acupuncture (AA) Comparative Effectiveness (PEACE) trial demonstrated that both acupuncture methods improved pain control better than usual care (UC) in cancer survivors. However, the comparative effectiveness between EA and AA among breast cancer survivors, specifically, for chronic musculoskeletal pain is unknown. Here, we report the results of breast cancer survivors enrolled in the PEACE trial. Methods: PEACE is a three-arm, parallel, single center randomized trial investigating the effectiveness of EA and AA versus UC for chronic musculoskeletal pain in 360 cancer survivors. Patients in both EA and AA received ten weekly treatments. Patients in UC could receive ten EA treatments after week 12. The primary endpoint was the change in mean Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) pain intensity from baseline to week 12; change from baseline to week 24 was a secondary endpoint. We analyzed the subset of trial participants with a primary diagnosis of breast cancer (46%). We conducted constrained linear mixed model analyses, which constrained all arms to have a common pre-randomization baseline mean. Model-based mean estimates at weeks 12 and 24 were compared between arms using model contrasts. Results: Among the 165 breast cancer survivors, mean (SD) age was 60.3 (11.0) years, 35.8% were non-white, and mean time since cancer diagnosis was 5.4 (6.5) years. Patients had been experiencing pain for 5.6 (7.3) years, with baseline mean pain severity of 5.35 (95% CI: 5.04, 5.66). 86.7% had a prior history of surgery, 43.0% chemotherapy, 64.8% radiotherapy, and 50.3% endocrine therapy. The common locations of pain were lower back (24.2%), knee/leg (23.6%), and shoulder/arm/elbow (13.9%). 107 (66.9%) patients were taking pain medication. At week 12, the BPI pain severity score was 2.69 (2.26. 3.13) in EA, 3.60 (3.17, 4.02) in AA, and 5.06 (4.47, 5.65) in UC. The change in mean BPI intensity score from baseline was -2.65 (-3.06, -2.25), -1.75 (-2.15, -1.35), and -0.29 (-0.86, 0.28) in EA, AA, and UC, respectively (Table 1). At week 24, the mean BPI pain severity was 2.84 (95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 2.40, 3.28) in EA and 3.67 (95% CI: 3.23, 4.10) in AA. EA reduced pain severity significantly more than AA at both week 12, (-0.90 [-1.45, -0.36], p =0.001) and week 24 (-0.82, [-1.38, -0.27], p=0.004). Minimal toxicities were reported. Conclusions: While both EA and AA were associated with clinically meaningful and persistent reduction of pain among breast cancer survivors, EA was more effective than AA at reducing pain severity. Breast cancer survivors with chronic musculoskeletal pain may consider EA.

Table 1.Changes in BPI Pain Intensity from BaselineBPI Pain IntensityUCEAAAEA vs AAChange from baselineChange from baselineDifference from UCChange from baselineDifference from UCDifference between EA and AAWeek 12Mean (95% CI)-0.29 (-0.86, 0.28)-2.65* (-3.06, -2.25)-2.37*(-3.05, -1.68)-1.75* (-2.15, -1.35)-1.46* (-2.14, -0.78)-0.90* (-1.45, -0.36)*p≤0.001

Citation Format: Wanqing Iris Zhi, Jun J Mao, Raymond E Baser, Susan Q Li, Vicotria S Blinder, Larry Norton, Andrew D Seidman, Mark E Robson, Ting Bao. Effectiveness of electroacupuncture versus auricular acupuncture in breast cancer survivors with chronic musculoskeletal pain: The PEACE randomized clinical trial [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2021 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2021 Dec 7-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P4-08-01.