Objective To explore the clinical effects of acupuncture combined with three-step analgesic therapy in the treatment of cancer pain. Methods A total of 80 patients with cancer pain diagnosed by pathology were randomly divided into treatment group and control group

with 40 cases in each group. Both groups of patients were treated by the three-step analgesic therapy of World Health Organization according to the severity of pain

and the treatment group was additionally treated with acupuncture at the Ashi acupoint（chosen not more than 2 acupoints near the pain area）

Hegu（LI 4）（bilateral）

Dazhui（DU 14）

Dazhu（BL 11）（bilateral）

Yanglingquan（GB 34）（bilateral）

Taichong（LV 3）（bilateral）. Acupuncture was given once a day for consecutive 2 weeks. The number rating scale（NRS）

persistent period of pain alleviation and relief

situation of pain relief

the equivalent of morphine consumption on the first day and the whole course

and adverse reaction of the two groups were observed before and after treatment. Results After treatment

NRS in both groups were lower than those before treatment

and the scores in the treatment group were lower than those in the control group（P < 0. 05）. The total effective rate of pain relief was 82. 5% in the treatment group and 57. 5% in the control group

and the difference between both groups was statistically significant（P < 0. 05）. The total equivalent morphine consumption in the treatment group was lower than that in the control group（P < 0. 05）. After the treatment

the incidence of adverse reactions such as nausea

vomiting

fatigue

constipation and dizziness in the treatment group was significantly lower than that in the control group（P < 0. 05）. Conclusion Acupuncture combined with the three-step analgesic therapy to improve cancer pain and relieve pain duration is better than the three-step analgesic therapy alone. Meanwhile

it has good analgesic effect and can reduce the dosage of morphine and the incidence of adverse reactions.