Electroacupuncture Added to Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Improves Sleep and Anxiety in Gynaecological Cancer Patients on Chemotherapy

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Insomnia and anxiety are common and distressing problems for gynaecological cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, yet non-drug treatment options remain limited. This randomised controlled trial investigated whether combining electroacupuncture with cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia offers greater benefit than cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia alone (delivered alongside a sham electroacupuncture control).

Seventy-six patients were assigned to one of two groups for four weeks: one receiving real electroacupuncture plus cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia, the other receiving sham electroacupuncture plus cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia. Sleep quality, insomnia severity, anxiety levels, and objective sleep measurements were all assessed. By the end of the four-week period, patients in the real electroacupuncture group showed significantly greater improvements in overall sleep quality scores compared with the control group. A notably higher proportion of electroacupuncture participants reached thresholds indicating clinically meaningful reductions in insomnia severity and anxiety. Objective sleep measures also favoured the electroacupuncture group, with greater increases in deep sleep, rapid eye movement sleep, and overall sleep scores. The overall treatment response rate was higher in the electroacupuncture group, and no serious adverse events were reported in either group.

The results suggest that electroacupuncture is a safe and effective addition to cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia in this patient population.

Conclusion: Adding electroacupuncture to cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia appears to meaningfully improve both sleep quality and anxiety in gynaecological cancer patients receiving chemotherapy, with a reassuring safety profile.

Source: Xu T, Rao Y, Cao Q and colleagues. Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) (2026). View on PubMed (PMID 42930195) · doi:10.3390/curroncol33100628

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