Limitations
cancer
CANCER
This trial has some limitations. First, because of the wide heterogeneity of patients with cancer, the generalizability of this trial may be limited. Second, we measured the primary outcome using a self-recorded diary; within-individual variability might exist and introduce some bias. Third, acupuncturists could not be blinded, which may have resulted in inflated treatment outcomes. Fourth, the EA protocol remains to be optimized because approximately 60% of patients were nonresponders and the efficacy of EA decreased after 8 weeks of treatment. Fifth, the efficacy of EA is slow and may require coadministration of pharmaceuticals at the beginning of treatment.