Auricular Point Acupressure to Manage Chemotherapy Induced Neuropathy

Chemotherapy-induced Neuropathy Clinical Trial

Official title: Auricular Point Acupressure to Manage Chemotherapy Induced Neuropathy

Status Recruiting

Clinical Trial Summary

The proposed randomized control trial will evaluate auricular point acupressure (APA) on chemotherapy-induced neuropathy (CIN), rigorously considering point specificity and placebo effects by integrating self-report measures, psychophysical measures (QST), endogenous biomarkers (cytokines), and neuro-imaging to investigate APA's efficacy and underlying mechanism(s).

Clinical Trial Description

Chemotherapy-induced neuropathy (CIN)-pain, numbness, or tingling distributed in the hands and feet-produces persistent symptoms affecting sensation and balance in cancer survivors. Up to 50% of cancer survivors still suffer CIN 6 years after treatment. Duloxetine, the only recommended drug by the American Society of Clinical Oncology, was found to be superior to placebo but improved CIN by only 0.73 points (0-10 scale). No effective treatment for CIN has been established except exercise, with an effect size of <0.508. Opioids relieve CIN pain, but long-term use is strongly discouraged due to opioid overuse. The investigators propose to test auricular point acupressure (APA), an innovative and scalable solution developed from auricular acupuncture. APA is a non-invasive (needleless) and active treatment for patients with pain, whereas acupuncture is an invasive (using needles) and passive treatment (administered by a licensed practitioner). In APA, small seeds are taped on specific ear points by a skilled provider and patients press on the seeds to stimulate ear points three times daily, three minutes per time, for a total of nine minutes per day. APA provides pain relief within 1-2 minutes after ear stimulation and sustains pain relief for one month after a 4-week APA intervention. APA is popular in Taiwan, China, and Europe. Though its use is sparse in the U.S., a limited number of clinical trials have supported APA in pain management. ;

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Chemotherapy-induced Neuropathy
• Peripheral Nervous System Diseases

• NCT number: NCT04920097
• Study type: Interventional
• Source: The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston
• Contact: Constance Johnson, PhD, MS, RN
• Phone: 713-500-9936
• Email: Constance.M.Johnson@uth.tmc.edu
• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: July 8, 2021
• Completion date: August 30, 2025