A case report of immediate effects of acupuncture on neuropathic cancer breakthrough pain

Introduction: Acupuncture is a promising treatment for visceral cancer pain, but to date, evidence for immediate effects on neuropathic pain is limited. Case presentation: This report presents a case of immediate pain relief by single-needle acupuncture on opioidrefractory neuropathic breakthrough pain in a 78-year-old female breast cancer patient with cervical bone metastases. Acupuncture was applied at a single point neuroanatomically correlating to the pain affected spinal segment. Discussion: Immediately after acupuncture, the patient reported a complete pain relief lasting for one day. In the following days, neuropathic breakthrough pain was better manageable with reduced dosages of opioids. Acupuncture is possibly effective in providing immediate and safe pain relief in neuropathic cancer pain through neuromodulating effects on the spinal and central nervous level. Randomized controlled studies with individualized acupuncture point protocols are needed to establish efficacy and safety.