Findings from the phase 2 ENHANCE study suggest that acupuncture can significantly improve cognitive difficulties in breast cancer survivors, with real acupuncture showing greater benefits than sham acupuncture. The results were presented at the 2025 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS), highlighting acupuncture as an increasingly used form of supportive care (Abstract GS3-04).
Virginia Kaklamani, MD, DSc, professor of medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio and SABCS codirector, said she encourages patients to consider acupuncture. “There’s no harmful data. There’s evidence showing acupuncture can improve symptoms caused by medications prescribed to our patients,” she said.
Jun J. Mao, MD, MSCE, lead author of the study and chief of integrative medicine at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), noted prior research linking insomnia to cognitive impairment in breast cancer survivors. His earlier studies also showed acupuncture could improve insomnia.
The ENHANCE trial enrolled 260 women with stage 0–III breast cancer who had completed treatment and reported cognitive difficulties and insomnia. Participants were assigned to receive real acupuncture (129 patients), sham acupuncture (70 patients), or usual care (61 patients). Sham acupuncture used non-trigger points and non-penetrating needles.
Cognitive function was measured using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy–Cognitive Function at baseline, 10 weeks, and 26 weeks. At 10 weeks, patients receiving real acupuncture improved by 10.3 points, those with sham acupuncture by 10.5 points, and usual care patients by 4.8 points. Dr. Mao emphasized that real acupuncture led to a twofold reduction in perceived cognitive impairment compared to usual care at both 10 and 26 weeks.
“These findings suggest acupuncture offers therapeutic benefits for improving women’s perception of their cognitive difficulties,” Dr. Mao said. He added that the specific needling aspect of real acupuncture may provide additional advantages for objective cognitive function, warranting further research.
Dr. Mao noted that the study was limited by being conducted solely at MSKCC during the COVID-19 pandemic. Both he and Dr. Kaklamani highlighted that access to acupuncture can be challenging due to cost and high demand. Dr. Mao reported that MSKCC currently has a two-month waitlist for acupuncture appointments.
Ann H. Partridge, MD, MPH, vice chair of medical oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, echoed these concerns. “Not every community has an acupuncturist readily available. Even in our institution, demand often exceeds supply,” she said.
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