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Chemotherapy for breast cancer frequently causes a cluster of distressing side effects — including nausea and vomiting, anxiety, depression, and sleep disturbances — that can evolve over time and significantly affect quality of life. This study, a secondary analysis of a randomised controlled trial involving 189 breast cancer patients, investigated how two non-pharmacological interventions — transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation and self-acupressure — influenced the long-term development of these interrelated symptoms during chemotherapy.
Using a group-based multi-trajectory modelling approach, researchers identified two distinct symptom trajectory groups: a “High Symptom Burden-Persistent” group (101 patients) and a “Low Symptom Burden-Relieving” group (88 patients). Notably, the second group showed comprehensive relief across most symptoms, though acute chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting remained persistently high. A causal forest analytical method was then used to estimate treatment effects, finding that both transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation and self-acupressure significantly increased the likelihood of patients falling into the more favourable, lower-burden trajectory. Self-acupressure showed a slightly but statistically significantly larger average treatment effect compared with transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation.
The authors suggest that mapping multidimensional symptom trajectories alongside treatment effect estimation offers a valuable analytical framework for future research in cancer-related symptom management.
Conclusion: Both transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation and self-acupressure were associated with more favourable multidimensional symptom trajectories in breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy, with self-acupressure demonstrating a marginally greater benefit.
Source: Yuan J, Zhao X, Li H and colleagues. Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer (2026). View on PubMed (PMID 42680887) · doi:10.1007/s00520-026-11168-x