Self-administered Acupressure to Improve Cancer-related Fatigue Among Cancer Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy

Summary

The primary aim of the study is to determine whether self-administered acupressure has effects equivalent to aerobic exercise on CRF in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Secondary outcomes include sleep disturbance (self-reported and objective), activity levels (self-reported and objective), quality of life (QoL), cognitive impairment, return to work, chemotherapy completion, and adherence to the intervention. This will be a prospective, assessor-blind, parallel group randomized controlled trial (RCT) that will strictly follow the CONSORT guidelines. A total of 138 patients aged 18 or above with a diagnosis of breast cancer scheduled to commence their first cycle of outpatient adjuvant chemotherapy will be recruited and randomized into self-administered acupressure and aerobic exercise groups. The hypothesis of this study is self-administered acupressure and aerobic exercise demonstrate equivalent effects on CRF. The acupressure arm comprises of a one-on-one, 90-min instructional session and a 1-hour follow-up visit by a trained Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioner, and self-practice for 12 weeks. The exercise arm consists of a one-on-one, 90-min instructional session and a 1-hour follow-up visit by a trained exercise specialist, and self-practice for 12 weeks. Participants will be instructed to maintain self-practice after the intervention. Intention-to-treat analysis will be performed.

Conditions

• Cancer, Breast
• Fatigue
• Acupressure
• Exercise

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Self-administered acupressure

Participants will receive training of self-acupressure on the 5 standard acupoints by a trained traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioner, have return-demonstration, be assessed by the practitioner with the use of a competency checklist, and be instructed to perform self-acupressure on the standard acupoints once a day. A follow-up visit will be conducted to reinforce learning, in which participants will demonstrate the acupressure technique while the practitioner observes and provides feedback, including suggestions for technique adjustments if necessary. The practitioner will recommend 2 additional acupoints from the list of optional acupoints based on the patients' sensitivity to acupoint stimulation and preference. Daily duration of self-practice will range from 8-10 minutes depending on the semi-individualized protocol (5 standard + 2 optional acupoints).

BEHAVIORAL

Aerobic exercise

Participants will receive verbal and written information from a trained exercise specialist about the specific advice of the desired exercise frequency (3x/week), duration (30 min each time), and intensity (moderate determined by rating of 12 to 14 on the Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion scale). The exercise specialist will demonstrate how to perform walking at moderate intensity indoors and outdoors, followed by return-demonstration of the patient. Education on safety precautions and walk schedule planning will be provided. Competency check will be performed to assess participants' ability to self-monitor and self-regular exercise intensity using Borg Scale. One week after the start of the program, the exercise specialist will conduct a 1-hour follow-up visit to supervise the patient's walking session and assess whether there is any additional advice needed.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• The University of Hong Kong

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2022-06-01

Primary Completion

2025-05-31

Completion

2025-05-31

Countries

• Hong Kong

Study Locations