Effects of acupuncture for the treatment of endometriosis-related pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Yang Xu, Wenli Zhao, Te Li, Ye Zhao, Huaien Bu, Shilin Song
PloS one · 2017 · vol. 12(10) , pp. e0186616 · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0186616 · PMID:29077705 · PMC5659600 · W2765125049
review OA: gold CC0 ⤵ 47 in-corpus citations
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⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-07 ⓘ

This meta-analysis found that acupuncture reduced endometriosis-related pain and serum CA-125 levels compared to various control interventions.

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⚙ AI-generated deep summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-07 ⓘ

This paper is a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials evaluating acupuncture for endometriosis-related pain, searching multiple databases up to December 2016 and including 10 studies with 589 participants. Across trials, acupuncture reduced pelvic pain intensity versus control groups (mean difference 1.36 on a 0–10 scale) and was associated with higher clinical effective rates (odds ratio 2.07), with peripheral blood CA-125 also increasing relative to controls (MD 5.9). A major limitation noted by the authors is that only one small pilot study used placebo control with blinding, while most trials used medication/herb controls that were difficult or impossible to blind, and all studies had small arm sizes (8–36 participants). This paper is centrally about endometriosis — it synthesizes trial evidence on acupuncture’s efficacy for endometriosis-related pain, including pain outcomes, CA-125, and response rates.

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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Endometriosis is a multifactorial, oestrogen-dependent, inflammatory, gynaecological condition that can result in long-lasting visceral pelvic pain and infertility. Acupuncture could be an effective treatment for endometriosis and may relieve pain. Our aim in the present study was to determine the effectiveness of acupuncture as a treatment for endometriosis-related pain. METHODS: In December 2016, six databases were searched for randomised controlled trials that determined the effectiveness of acupuncture in the treatment of endometriosis-related pain. Ultimately, 10 studies involving 589 patients were included. The main outcomes assessed were variation in pain level, variation in peripheral blood CA-125 level, and clinical effective rate. All analyses were performed using comprehensive meta-analysis statistical software. RESULTS: Of the 10 studies included, only one pilot study used a placebo control and assessed blinding; the rest used various controls (medications and herbs), which were impossible to blind. The sample sizes were small in all studies, ranging from 8 to 36 patients per arm. The mean difference (MD) in pain reduction (pre- minus post-interventional pain level-measured on a 0-10-point scale) between the acupuncture and control groups was 1.36 (95% confidence intervals [CI] = 1.01-1.72, P<0.0001). Acupuncture had a positive effect on peripheral blood CA-125 levels, as compared with the control groups (MD = 5.9, 95% CI = 1.56-10.25, P = 0.008). Similarly, the effect of acupuncture on clinical effective rate was positive, as compared with the control groups (odds ratio = 2.07; 95% CI = 1.24-3.44, P = 0.005). CONCLUSIONS: Few randomised, blinded clinical trials have addressed the efficacy of acupuncture in treating endometriosis-related pain. Nonetheless, the current literature suggests that acupuncture reduces pain and serum CA-125 levels, regardless of the control intervention used. To confirm these findings, additional, blinded studies with proper controls and adequate sample sizes are needed.

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Condition tags

endometriosisinfertility

MeSH descriptors

Acupuncture Endometriosis Pain Management Endometriosis Female Humans Pain Management Pain Measurement Publication Bias

Citation neighborhood

Papers in the corpus that this work cites (lower rings, blue) and that cite this one (upper rings, green). Dot size scales with the paper's in-corpus citation count — bigger dot = more influential within the endo/adeno field. Click a dot to open that paper. [ expand to 2 hops ] — adds papers reached through this work's immediate citers/citees. Heavier; up to 60 extra dots.

References (39)

Cited by (47)

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