Acupuncture with a jolt: could needles shield nerves from chemo?

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: * Age ≥ 18 years. * Pathological and imaging examinations confirmed the diagnosis of advanced cancer(IV stage), including: breast cancer, gastric cancer, intestinal cancer, non-small cell lung cancer or ovarian cancer; * Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status of 0 or 1. * Scheduled to receive chemotherapy containing a taxane, utidelone, or oxaliplatin, with no significant pre-existing neurological symptoms prior to chemotherapy. Specific regimens include: Colorectal cancer: Oxaliplatin-containing regimen. Gastric cancer: Oxaliplatin-containing or taxane-containing regimen. Breast cancer: Taxane-containing or utidelone-containing regimen. NSCLC or Ovarian cancer: Taxane-containing regimen. * No history of acupuncture treatment within one month prior to study initiation. * Adequate major organ function, meeting the following laboratory criteria: Hematology: Absolute neutrophil count ≥ 1.5 × 10\^9/L; Platelet count ≥ 100 × 10\^9/L; White blood cell count 3.5 - 9.5 × 10\^9/L; Hemoglobin ≥ 100 g/L. Hepatic Function: Total bilirubin ≤ 1.5 × upper limit of normal (ULN); Aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase ≤ 3 × ULN; Serum bilirubin concentration \< 1.5 mg/dL; Serum albumin \> 2.5 g/dL. Renal Function: Serum creatinine ≤ 1.5 × ULN, OR calculated creatinine clearance ≥ 50 mL/min (using the Cockcroft-Gault formula). Coagulation: International normalized ratio ≤ 1.5, AND activated partial thromboplastin time ≤ 1.5 × ULN. * Willing to receive acupuncture intervention and undergo subsequent follow-up assessments. * Voluntarily agree to participate in the study and sign an informed consent form. Exclusion Criteria: * Patients with early-stage cancer. * Pre-existing peripheral neuropathy prior to the initiation of chemotherapy. * Severe impairment of major organ function, rendering the patient unable to tolerate standard-dose chemotherapy. * Presence of active skin infection or other conditions unsuitable for acupuncture treatment. * Coexisting underlying diseases associated with peripheral neuropathy, such as diabetes mellitus, Guillain-Barré syndrome, or chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy. * Current use of medications for neuropathic pain (e.g., gabapentin, pregabalin). * Pregnant or lactating patients. * Presence of dermatological conditions, as assessed by the clinician, that may interfere with the study procedures or outcomes. * Patients with active brain metastases. * Patients with a history of implanted cardiac pacemakers or defibrillators, or a history of epilepsy.