Cancer patients who suffer severe nerve pain due to their treatment may benefit from acupuncture, according to a small study.

Researchers found that patients with the con-dition experienced improvement after undergoing the technique.

Cancer patients can develop a condition called chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, which is associated with some anti-cancer drugs.

These drugs include vinca alkaloids, platinum-based drugs such as cisplatin, oxaliplatin and carboplatin, and the taxanes docetaxel and paclitaxel.

The drugs can damage peripheral nerves, particularly in the calves and feet, which can result in debilitating nerve pain and difficulty walking.

Experts at the HanseMerkur Centre for Traditional Chinese Medicine at the University Medical Centre in Hamburg studied 11 patients whose peripheral neuropathy had developed during a course of chemotherapy.

Six of these patients underwent acupuncture while the other five acted as a control group and received best medical care.

The acupuncture patients had 20 sessions, where 20 needles were inserted into their bodies at certain points and depths each time. The sessions were delivered over three months by an acupuncture doctor who has 20 years experience in the technique.

Nerve conduction studies, which assessed the signalling speed and intensity of two nerves in the same calf, were carried out before acupuncture and again six months after chemotherapy.

People in the control group also underwent nerve conduction studies. In those given acupuncture, five out of six patients experienced an improvement in both the speed and the intensity of nerve signalling. These patients also said their condition had improved.

The researchers, writing in the journal Acupuncture In Medicine, said: “The data suggest that acupuncture has a positive effect on CIPN.” They added that larger trials are needed and said previous studies have shown that “acupuncture may increase the blood flow in the limbs”.