The Effect of Acupuncture for Insomnia in Breast Cancer Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Female patients between 18 and 75 years of age;
2. Diagnosis of stage (American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) TNM) I-IV breast cancer;
3. Currently receiving chemotherapy, or have completed chemotherapy no more than 6 months;
4. Insomnia onset after the diagnosis of breast cancer;
5. Insomnia occurs at least 3 nights per week, and presents for at least 1 month, with fulfilment of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5) diagnostic criteria for brief insomnia disorder;
6. Insomnia severity as defined by an ISI score of no less than 10 in the past 2 weeks;
7. Expected survival time of more than 6 months;
8. Ability to understand the nature of the study and willingness to give informed consent;
9. Ability to provide responses during outcome measurement.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Insomnia before the diagnosis of breast cancer;
2. Other sleep disorder (e.g., obstructive sleep apnoea);
3. Shift work or irregular sleep pattern;
4. Severe visual, hearing or language defects;
5. Severe hematological dysfunction (platelet count \<60,000/μL, haemoglobin \<8 g/dL or absolute neutrophil count \<1000/μL);
6. With pacemakers or other electronic implants that could interfere with electroacupuncture;
7. History of acupuncture use in the previous 3 months;
8. Participation in other clinical trials with intervention within 3 months of the beginning of the trial.