The National Cancer Institute's Conference on Acupuncture for Symptom Management in Oncology: State of the Science, Evidence, and Research Gaps.

The Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis, Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine, at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) held a symposium on "Acupuncture for Cancer Symptom Management" on June 16 and 17, 2016. Invited speakers included 19 scientists and scholars with expertise in acupuncture and cancer research from the United States, Europe, and China. The conference reviewed the NCI's grant funding on acupuncture, analyzed the needs of cancer patients, reviewed safety issues, and assessed both the current scientific evidence and research gaps of acupuncture in oncology care. Researchers and stakeholders presented and discussed basic mechanisms of acupuncture; clinical evidence for specific symptoms; and methodological challenges such as placebo effects, novel biostatistical methods, patient-reported outcomes, and comparative effectiveness research. This paper, resulting from the conference, summarizes both the current state of the science and clinical evidence of oncology acupuncture, identifies key scientific gaps, and makes recommendations for future research to increase understanding of both the mechanisms and effects of acupuncture for cancer symptom management.

The Role of Grape Seed Extract in the Treatment of Chemo/Radiotherapy Induced Toxicity: A Systematic Review of Preclinical Studies.

Grapes are one of the most consumed fruits in the world and are rich in polyphenols. Grape seed proanthocyanidins (GSP) have demonstrated chemopreventive and/or chemotherapeutic effects in various cancer cell cultures and animal models. The clinical efficacy of chemotherapy is often limited by its adverse effects. Several studies show that reactive oxygen species mediate the cardiotoxicity and neurotoxicity induced by various cancer chemotherapeutic agents. This implies that concomitant administration of antioxidants may prevent these adverse effects. The review was carried out in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines. An electronic search strategy in Medline and Embase databases was conducted. Of the 41 studies reviewed, 27 studied GSP while the remainder (14) studied grape seed or skin extracts (GSE). All the studies were published in English, except 2 in Chinese. A significant percentage (34%) of the studies we reviewed assessed the effect of GSE or GSP on cardiotoxicity induced by chemotherapy. Doxorubicin was the most common chemotherapeutic drug studied followed by cisplatin. Research studies that assessed the effect of GSE or GSP on radiation treatment accounted for 22% of the articles reviewed. GSE/GSP ameliorates some of the cytotoxic effects on normal cells/tissues induced by chemo/radiotherapy.