Effect of acupuncture and moxibustion on the immune function of patients with malignant tumors: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Acupuncture and moxibustion have been shown to be safe and effective methods for bidirectional immunomodulatory function. Clinical practice and many studies have shown that acupuncture and moxibustion have a certain clinical effect on immune promotion in patients with malignant tumors. Methods: Eight electronic databases were searched systematically for articles published through December 31, 2024. Study Selection Randomized controlled trial studies (RCTs) that reported The number of T lymphocytes cells in patients with malignant tumors who received acupuncture and/or moxibustionon treatment were included. For continuous variables, effect estimates were calculated as mean difference (MD); and for dichotomous variables, the risk ratio (RR) was calculated. A funnel plot was used to analyze potential publication bias. Results: 33 studies involving 2610 participants were included. Patients who received acupuncture and/or moxibustion treatment had higher CD3⁺, CD4⁺, CD4⁺/CD8⁺ and natural killer (NK) cell levels, but lower CD8⁺ levels. At the same time, the anti-tumor treatment effect was better than that of the control group. Conclusions: Evidence from this meta-analysis, acupuncture and moxibustion can enhance the immune function and improve the prognosis of malignant tumor patients. Further studies are recommended to support and confirm these findings. Systematic Review Registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/, identifier CRD42023465759.