Supporting people through cancer treatment
Acupuncture has emerged as one of the most widely researched complementary therapies in UK cancer care, with a growing body of clinical evidence supporting its ability to ease some of the most difficult side effects of cancer treatment. Studies cited by Cancer Research UK point to real, measurable benefits: relief from chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, reduced treatment-related pain, fewer hot flushes linked to hormone therapy, improved fatigue levels, and easing of dry mouth caused by radiotherapy.
Macmillan Cancer Support similarly recognises acupuncture as an option worth discussing with your care team. A recent NHS hospital-based evaluation found statistically significant improvements in patient-reported wellbeing after a course of acupuncture — reflecting what many oncology teams across the UK, including centres such as The Christie and the Lynda Jackson Macmillan Centre, have already recognised: that acupuncture can be a valuable, low-risk addition to a patient's care plan. It is thought to work by stimulating the nervous system to release the body's own endorphins, contributing to natural pain relief and a greater sense of wellbeing during an otherwise gruelling treatment journey.
WHAT ACUPUNCTURE MAY HELP WITH
Symptoms with supporting evidence
Chemotherapy-induced nausea & vomiting
Acupuncture's role in easing chemotherapy sickness isn't new. It traces back to pioneering NHS research in Belfast in the 1980s where Professor John Dundee at Queen's University first identified a wrist-point with a genuine calming effect on nausea. Since then, larger UK trials have put it to the test.
The largest UK trial to test this rigorously was ANCHoR, a 500-patient study funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), which compared acupressure wristbands against sham wristbands and standard care alone.
More patients using real acupressure reported no nausea at all compared with the other groups.
Sources: Dundee et al., Queen's University Belfast; Molassiotis et al.,
NIHR Health Technology Assessment (ANCHoR trial), 2013
Cancer-related pain
Pain is one of the most common and disruptive experiences people face during cancer treatment, whether from the disease itself, surgery, or the recovery that follows. Acupuncture has become a widely used complementary approach valued for working alongside standard pain management rather than replacing it.
Clinical research supports acupuncture as an adjunct for pain linked to cancer or its treatment, including post-surgical pain. It's thought to work by stimulating the body's own pain relieving ability in triggering the release of natural endorphins, along with other neurochemical responses that can help calm an overactive pain response.
Source: Cancer Research UK; NHS hospital service evaluation, 2025
Hot flushes
Hot flushes are one of the most disruptive side effects of cancer treatment. They affect a large proportion of people going through hormone therapy for breast cancer (such as tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitors) and androgen deprivation therapy for prostate cancer, often continuing for years and significantly affecting sleep, mood, and daily life.
Because standard hormone-based treatments for hot flushes usually aren't
an option for cancer patients, many are looking for safe, well-researched alternatives — and acupuncture is one of the most widely studied.
sources: Acupuncture versus venlafaxine for
the management of vasomotor symptoms in patients with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer
Cancer-Related Fatigue
Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is one of the most common and distressing symptoms of cancer and its treatment, estimated to affect up to 90% of patients during active treatment, and a third or more of survivors for years afterwards. Unlike ordinary tiredness, CRF isn't fixed by rest or sleep. It's a persistent, whole-body exhaustion that touches physical energy, concentration, mood, and motivation, and it can be one of the hardest symptoms for conventional medicine to treat well. This has driven growing interest in acupuncture as a complementary option, and it's now one of the most researched integrative therapies for this symptom.
Source: Acupuncture for cancer-related fatigue in patients with breast cancer
Chemotherapy-induced Neuropathy
Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) — numbness, tingling, burning, or pain in the hands and feet, affects roughly two thirds of people in the first month after starting neurotoxic chemotherapy drugs such as taxanes, platinum agents, vinca alkaloids, or bortezomib.
For many, it doesn't fully resolve once treatment ends and can persist for months or years, affecting balance, grip, and daily function. Because there are currently very few proven
pharmaceutical treatments for CIPN, and the main medication option may not work for everyone, there's been substantial research interest in acupuncture as a complementary approach.
Source: Efficacy and Safety of Acupuncture against Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy
Sleep, Anxiety & Quality of Life
A cancer diagnosis and its treatment can disrupt far more than physical health. Sleep problems affect an estimated 40–70% of breast cancer survivors, anxiety affects roughly 6–23% of people with cancer, and the combined weight of physical symptoms, worry, and disrupted routines can significantly erode
day to day quality of life. These three areas are closely linked. Poor sleep worsens anxiety, anxiety worsens sleep, and both drag down quality of life, which is part of why acupuncture, which appears to influence all three together, has become a widely studied complementary option in oncology settings.
Source: Acupuncture for systemic therapy-associated insomnia in patients with breast cancer