A randomised clinical trial published this month in the journal Cancers has found that a combination of traditional acupuncture and auricular acupressure significantly improved quality of life in patients with head and neck cancer undergoing radiotherapy — while patients who received no complementary treatment showed measurable deterioration across the same measures during their cancer treatment.
This is one of the clearest clinical demonstrations to date of what acupuncture can do as a supportive therapy during active cancer treatment — not as an alternative to conventional oncology, but as a meaningful addition to it.
Please note: Acupuncture is a complementary therapy. It does not treat or cure cancer. It is used alongside conventional oncology care — surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy — never instead of it. Always discuss any complementary therapy with your oncologist or treating team before beginning.
What the researchers did
The trial enrolled 107 patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) — cancers of the mouth, throat, larynx and related structures — who were undergoing radiotherapy as part of their cancer treatment. Head and neck cancer and its treatment are associated with some of the most severe quality-of-life impacts of any cancer type: pain, difficulty swallowing, dry mouth (xerostomia), fatigue, disrupted sleep, psychological distress and social withdrawal are all common during and after radiotherapy in this region.
Patients were randomly allocated 1:1 — 52 to receive acupuncture alongside their radiotherapy, and 55 to a control group with no additional intervention. After accounting for deaths and radiotherapy discontinuations during follow-up, the per-protocol analysis included 47 acupuncture patients and 52 controls.
Quality of life was assessed using a validated, internationally recognised tool across five domains: physical, psychological, social, environmental and overall wellbeing.
What the trial found
The findings were striking in the contrast they revealed between the two groups.
Patients receiving acupuncture demonstrated improvements in physical, psychological, social, environmental and overall quality-of-life domains, while patients without acupuncture generally showed deterioration across these measures during radiotherapy.
These contrasting trajectories suggest that acupuncture may help mitigate the expected deterioration in quality of life during radiotherapy. The intervention was well tolerated with no significant adverse events reported — an important safety finding for a patient population that is already under significant physiological stress from both the disease and its treatment.
The combination used was traditional acupuncture with needles alongside auricular acupressure — the application of sustained pressure to specific points on the ear, often using small seeds or pellets taped in place. Patients can use auricular acupressure themselves between clinic appointments, which makes it a practical supportive tool that continues working outside the treatment session.
Why head and neck cancer specifically
Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma is one of the most quality-of-life-impairing cancer diagnoses a person can receive. The structures involved — the mouth, throat, salivary glands, larynx, sinuses and lymph nodes of the neck — are central to eating, speaking, breathing and swallowing. Radiotherapy in this region causes severe local inflammation, dry mouth, difficulty swallowing, taste changes, fatigue and often significant psychological distress.
There is already a growing evidence base for acupuncture in head and neck cancer specifically. A major phase III study at MD Anderson Cancer Center and Fudan University found that true acupuncture significantly reduced radiation-induced xerostomia (dry mouth) compared to standard care — one of the most debilitating long-term effects of head and neck radiotherapy. The 2026 trial reported here builds on this evidence by demonstrating a broader quality-of-life benefit across multiple domains during active treatment.
Integrating acupuncture into standard oncology care represents a growing frontier in supportive oncology, particularly for managing treatment-related toxicities.
The TCM perspective on supporting cancer treatment
In Chinese medicine, cancer treatment — particularly radiotherapy — is understood to create intense Heat toxicity in the body while simultaneously depleting Qi, Yin and Blood. The damage to local structures in head and neck radiotherapy reflects a combination of Heat damaging the mucosal membranes (causing dryness, ulceration and inflammation) and Qi stagnation disrupting the normal function of the local channels.
Acupuncture support during cancer treatment aims to clear Heat toxicity, nourish Yin to restore moisture to damaged tissues, strengthen Spleen and Stomach Qi to maintain digestive function and appetite, calm the Shen (mind) to reduce anxiety and improve sleep, and support the body’s own recovery capacity between treatment sessions.
These are not vague claims — they correspond precisely to the domains in which the trial showed improvement: physical function, psychological wellbeing, sleep, social engagement and overall quality of life.
What this means if you or someone you know is undergoing cancer treatment
If you or a family member is undergoing head and neck cancer treatment, this research provides a credible, peer-reviewed basis for considering acupuncture as a supportive addition to your oncology care. It is low-risk, has excellent tolerability, and the evidence for meaningful quality-of-life benefit is now stronger than ever.
At AcuRodos, we offer a dedicated Cancer Support and Recovery package — eight sessions designed specifically to support patients through and after cancer treatment, with a 12-month validity to accommodate the unpredictable nature of treatment schedules. This package is available at a reduced rate of €380 in recognition of the financial burden of cancer treatment.
We work in collaboration with your oncology team, not independently of it, and are happy to provide written progress summaries for your treating consultant on request.
What this study is — and what it isn’t
This was a well-conducted randomised clinical trial. However the final per-protocol sample was relatively small (47 acupuncture patients, 52 controls), and the authors themselves note that larger randomised controlled trials with longer follow-up are needed to confirm these findings and establish optimal treatment protocols. The control group received no intervention rather than sham acupuncture, which means some of the effect cannot be fully separated from the additional attention and care the acupuncture group received. These are standard limitations of this type of research and are honestly presented.
What the study adds is important nonetheless: a well-designed randomised trial showing that acupuncture is safe, well-tolerated and associated with meaningfully better quality of life compared to no intervention in one of the most challenging cancer treatment contexts in oncology.
Source: Menezes AS, Sanches GL, Durães CP, et al. Acupuncture to improve quality of life in patients with head and neck cancer: a randomized clinical trial. Cancers. 2026;18(13):2132. doi:10.3390/cancers18132132. Reported by CancerNetwork, July 2026.
This blog post is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always discuss any complementary therapy with your oncologist or treating team before beginning. Acupuncture at AcuRodos is complementary care provided alongside, not instead of, conventional cancer treatment.
Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash
