Effects of Infrared Laser Moxibustion on Cancer-related Fatigue in Breast Cancer Patients

Cancer-related Fatigue Clinical Trial

Official title: Effects of Infrared Laser Moxibustion on Cancer-related Fatigue in Breast Cancer Patients

Status Completed

Clinical Trial Summary

Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is the most common and distressing symptom associated with tumor or cancer treatment that breast cancer survivors (BCS) experience.The investigators previously found the laser moxibustion was potentially efficacious for CRF; however, more rigorously designed study is needed to confirm its benefit. The primary aim of this study is to determine the efficacy of 10.6µm infrared laser moxibustion and its long-term effects on CRF. Secondary aims are to evaluate the effect of infrared laser moxibustion on co-existing symptoms such as among BCS experiencing CRF.

Clinical Trial Description

The randomized, placebo-controlled, three-arm trial will be conducted to evaluate the efficacy of infrared laser moxibustion (ILM) and sham ILM (SILM) compared to waitlist control (WLC) for moderately to severely fatigued BCS. The two intervention groups will receive real/sham infrared laser moxibustion on four acupoints (e.g. ST36 (bilateral), CV4, and CV6) for 20 minutes each session for six weeks (two times per week). The primary endpoint is the change in fatigue scores from Baseline to Week 6 as measured by the Chinese version of the Brief Fatigue Inventory (BFI-C). Our secondary aims are to compare the severity of comorbidities (e.g. depression, insomnia, and pain) and biological outcomes (e.g. telomere length) among the three groups. ;

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Cancer-related Fatigue
• Fatigue

• NCT number: NCT03553355
• Study type: Interventional
• Source: Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: June 20, 2018
• Completion date: July 27, 2021