A randomized controlled trial for acupuncture combined with conventional therapy in the treatment of pain caused by prostate cancer: Study protocol clinical trial (SPIRIT compliant).

INTRODUCTION: Prostate cancer refers to an epithelial malignant tumor that occurs in the prostate area. In recent years, with the improvement of people's living standards, the incidence of prostate cancer has gradually increased, which has greatly affected people's life and health and quality of life. Acupuncture has its unique advantages in treating cancer pain. We will evaluate the efficacy and safety of acupuncture and moxibustion in the treatment of pain caused by prostate cancer using a clinical randomized parallel control method. METHODS/DESIGN: This pragmatic randomized controlled trial will recruit 120 patients who are diagnosed with prostate cancer. Simple randomization to conventional drug treatment with a 1:1 allocation ratio will be used. Based on the patient's pain location and the primary lesion, the acupuncture needle insertion position was determined according to the principle of local selection of acupoints. All participants will continue to receive conventional drug treatment. DISCUSSION: This trial may provide evidence regarding the clinical effectiveness, safety, and cost-effectiveness of acupuncture for pain caused by prostate cancer. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, ChiCTR2000029801, Registered on 14 February 2020.

Acupuncture for erectile dysfunction in post-stroke patients: Study Protocol Clinical Trial (SPIRIT Compliant).

INTRODUCTION: Erectile dysfunction refers to the continued inability of the penis to reach and maintain sufficient erections to achieve a satisfactory sex life and last at least 6 months. As part of traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture has been widely used in clinical practice. In order to evaluate, the exact effect of acupuncture on the clinical efficacy of patients with Post-stroke Erectile dysfunction (PSED), this experiment uses randomized controlled experiments. METHODS/DESIGN: This pragmatic randomized controlled trial will recruit 103 patients who are diagnosed with PSED. Simple randomization to conventional treatment with a 1:1 allocation ratio will be used. Ten 30-min acupuncture sessions will be provided to patients assigned to the Intervention group. All participants will continue to receive conventional treatment. The selection of outcomes will be evaluated by International Erectile Function Index-5 (IIEF-5) score at week 8. DISCUSSION: This trial may provide evidence regarding the clinical effectiveness, safety, and cost-effectiveness of acupuncture for patients with PSED. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, ChiCTR2000030231, Registered on February 25, 2020.

Acupuncture combined with tamsulosin hydrochloride sustained-release capsule in the treatment of chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome: A study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) is a common urinary system disease in men. As part of traditional Traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture has been widely used in clinical practice. In order to evaluate the exact effect of acupuncture on the clinical efficacy of CP/CPPS, this experiment uses randomized controlled experiments. METHODS/DESIGN: This pragmatic randomized controlled trial will recruit 166 patients who are diagnosed with CP/CPPS. Simple randomization to conventional drug treatment with a 1:1 allocation ratio will be used. Ten 30-minute acupuncture sessions will be provided to patients assigned to the Intervention group. All participants will continue to receive conventional drug treatment. The selection of outcomes will be evaluated by Health's Symptom Score Index (NIH-CPSI) score at week 4. DISCUSSION: This trial may provide evidence regarding the clinical effectiveness, safety, and cost-effectiveness of acupuncture for patients with CP/CPPS. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, ChiCTR1900021132, Registered on 29 January 2019.

Assessment of tumor response to chemotherapy in patients with breast cancer using (18)F-FLT: a meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: To determine the diagnostic performance of 3'-deoxy-3'-(18)F-fluorothymidine positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FLT PET/CT) and FLT PET for evaluating response to chemotherapy in patients with breast cancer. METHODS: Databases such as PubMed (MEDLINE included) and excerpta medica database (EMBASE), were searched for relevant original articles. The included studies were assessed for methodological quality with quality assessment of diagnosis accuracy studies (QUADAS) score tool. Histopathological analysis and/or clinical and/or radiological follow-up for at least 6 months were used as the reference standard. The data were extracted by two reviewers independently to analyze the sensitivity, specificity, summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) curve, area under the curve (AUC), and heterogeneity. RESULTS: The present study analyzed a total of 4 selected articles. The pool sensitivity was 0.773 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.594-0.900]. The pooled specificity was 0.685 (95% CI: 0.479-0.849) on basis of FEM. The pooled LR+, LR-, and DOR were 2.874 (1.492-5.538), 0.293 (0.146-0.589), and 14.891 (3.238-68.475), respectively. The AUC was 0.8636 (±0.0655), and the Q* index was 0.7942 (±0.0636). CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that (18)F-FLT PET/CT or PET is useful to predict chemotherapy response in breast cancer with reasonable sensitivity, specificity and DOR. However, future larger scale clinical trials will be needed to assess the regimen of (18)F-FLT PET/CT or PET in monitoring the response to chemotherapy in breast cancer patients.