Auricular Point Acupressure to Manage Aromatase Inhibitor-Induced Arthralgia in Postmenopausal Breast Cancer Survivors: A Pilot Study.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To assess the feasibility of auricular point acupressure to manage aromatase inhibitor-induced arthralgia.
. DESIGN: Wait list control design.
. SETTING: Outpatient clinics and oncology center.
. SAMPLE: 20 women with aromatase inhibitor-induced arthralgia.
. METHODS: After baseline data were collected, participants waited one month before they received acupressure once per week for four weeks at a convenient time. The baseline data served as the control comparison. Self-reported measures and blood samples were obtained at baseline, at preintervention, weekly during the intervention, and at post-intervention.
. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES: The primary outcomes included pain intensity, pain interference, stiffness, and physical function. Inflammatory cytokines and chemokines were tested.
. FINDINGS: After the four-week intervention, participants reported decreases in worst pain and pain interference, and improvements in physical function, cancer-related symptom severity, and interference. The proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines displayed a trend of a mean percentage reduction. The anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-13 increased from pre- to postintervention.
. CONCLUSIONS: Auricular point acupressure is feasible and may be effective in managing arthralgia in breast cancer survivors.
. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING: Nurses can administer acupressure in clinical settings, which could enhance the management of aromatase inhibitor-induced arthralgia and contribute to a shift from traditional disease-based biomedical models to a broader, integrative, medical paradigm for managing aromatase inhibitor-induced arthralgia.

Dose effects of relaxation practice on immune responses in women newly diagnosed with breast cancer: an exploratory study.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To determine the dose effects of relaxation practice on immune responses and describe the types of relaxation techniques preferred and the extent of relaxation practice over 10 months. DESIGN: Descriptive, prospective, repeated measures. SETTING: An interdisciplinary breast clinic at a university-affiliated comprehensive cancer center in the United States. SAMPLE: 49 women with newly diagnosed breast cancer and undergoing adjuvant therapy who participated in a stress management intervention. METHODS: Relaxation practice was assessed twice a month for 10 months with immune measurements (e.g., natural killer cell activity; lymphocyte proliferation; interferon [IFN]-γ; interleukin [IL]-2, -4, -6, and -10) at the beginning and end of 10-month practice. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES: Relaxation practice (representing the concepts of stress and adherence), relaxation technique, and immune response. FINDINGS: After adjusting for covariates, the extent of relaxation practice significantly contributed to the variance of natural killer cell activity, lymphocyte proliferation, IL-4, and IL-10 responses in a positive direction; the higher the relaxation practice, the higher the immune responses. In comparison, IFN-γ, IL-2, and IL-6 responses were not affected. The deep-breathing method was most preferred by participants, followed by progressive relaxation and imagination or visualization. The mean weekly frequency of relaxation practice was 5.29 (SD = 3.35), and the mean duration of relaxation practice was 19.16 (SD = 10.81) minutes per session. CONCLUSIONS: Persistent relaxation practice may have positive effects on multiple immune responses in a dose-dependent manner. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING: Allowing the choice of preferred techniques and emphasizing the importance of long-term adherence, a relaxation program may need to be routinely offered to women under high stress.