MedTrace Logo

Acupuncture for the Treatment of Chronic Lymphedema

NCT01003951 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: PHASE2 · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 37

Last updated 2012-08-16

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Lymphedema is an accumulation of lymphatic fluid in the tissues that causes swelling, most often in the arms and/or legs, and occasionally in other parts of the body. Lymphedema can occur when lymph vessels are damaged or lymph nodes are removed. Lymphedema can develop right after breast cancer treatment or weeks, months, or even years later. For many people, available treatments for lymphedema are not effective. Recent evidence suggests that acupuncture may help reduce the symptoms of lymphedema. The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of acupuncture on chronic lymphedema. This study will look further at whether acupuncture can reduce lymphedema and help us to understand immune changes that may be associated with improvements in lymphedema.

Conditions

Interventions

PROCEDURE

Acupuncture

Acupuncture treatments will be given at the Integrative Medicine Outpatient Center, if needed in particular cases, at the MSKCC Breast Center. Each treatment is 30-40 minutes in duration. Each patient will receive two acupuncture treatments each week for four consecutive weeks. Before and after each treatment, the circumference of the patient's upper arm, and forearm will be measured in both the affected and unaffected arms. The greater difference between affected and unaffected arms (either the forearm or the upper arm) for each patient will be used for outcome assessment. Photographs of the patient's affected and unaffected arms before and after each treatment will be taken to provide visual documentation of status. The patient's face will not appear in the photographs. Blood draws will be performed from the unaffected arm in serum collection tubes and will be performed within 1 week of starting acupuncture and within 1 week of completion of the 4 week protocol.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Principal Investigators

  • Barrie Cassileth, MD · Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Study Design

Allocation
NA
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Model
SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
FEMALE
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2009-10-31
Primary Completion
2012-08-31
Completion
2012-08-31

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

More Related Trials

Entities

Diseases
Companies

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT01003951 on ClinicalTrials.gov