LAUSR

To explore the clinical efficacy and mechanism of auricular point sticking plus Western medicine for moderate gastric cancer pain. A total of 80 patients were selected and divided into an observation group and a control group according to the random number table method, with 40 cases in each group. Patients in the control group received Western medicine treatment, while patients in the observation group received additional auricular point sticking. Both groups were treated for 2 weeks. Numeric rating scale (NRS) and Karnofsky performance status (KPS) were adopted before and after treatment. The total time and times of flare-up pain in 24 h were recorded. The cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) levels were detected. The clinical efficacy of both groups was evaluated after treatment. The total effective rate of the observation group was significantly higher than that of the control group (P<0.05); after treatment, NRS scores of both groups were significantly lower than those before treatment (both P<0.05), and the score of the observation group was lower than that of the control group (P<0.05); KPS scores of both groups were significantly higher than those before treatment (both P<0.05), and the score of the observation group was higher than that of the control group (P<0.05). After treatment, the total time and flare-up times of pain during 24 h of both groups were significantly reduced (all P<0.05), and those of the observation group were significantly less than those of the control group (both P<0.05). After treatment, the COX-2 and TNF-α levels of both groups were significantly reduced (all P<0.05), and were lower in the observation group than in the control group (all P<0.05). The clinical efficacy of auricular point sticking plus Western medicine for moderate gastric cancer pain is valid. This combined treatment can alleviate cancer pain and improve patients’ quality of life, which may be related to its ability to reduce COX-2 and TNF-α levels.