Chinese Acupuncture for Chemobrain in Elderly Cancer Patients

NCT05876988 · Status: RECRUITING · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 168

Last updated 2023-10-24

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Elderly cancer patients would suffer cognitive impairment due to chemotherapy, and a series of neurocognitive symptoms, known as "chemobrain". Chinese acupuncture plus herbal decoctions is an emerging therapeutic option for chemotherapy induced cognitive impairment in elderly cancer patients, despite limited supporting evidence. By evaluating this novel Chinese medicine mode in elderly cancer patients at our institution, the investigators aim to contribute to the existing knowledge in this area while establishing a basis for further research.

The investigators will perform a study of all cases of "chemobrain" related elderly cancer patients treated with Chinese acupuncture from 2023 to 2025. The investigators would enroll 168 elderly cancer patients with clinically confirmed chemobrain; those for Chinese acupuncture will be treated with electroacupuncture (2 sessions per week over 8 weeks) ; the others will be received conventional drug therapy, or palliative-intent therapy. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) will be served as the primary outcome. Digit span test will be the secondary outcome for attentional function and working memory. The quality of life and multiple functional assessments will also be evaluated.

Conditions

  • Chinese Acupuncture

Interventions

DEVICE

Chinese acupuncture

Disposable acupuncture needles(0.30mm in diameter and 25-40mm in length) will be inserted at a depth of 10-30mm perpendicularly or obliquely into acupoints. Manual manipulation will be carried out for all acupoints to evoke needling sensation. Electrical stimulation was additionally delivered on the 6 pairs of the frontal acupoints. The output peak current and voltage of the machine would be 6V and 48mA, respectively, with constant wave at frequency of 2Hz and phase duration of 100µs for 30min. Electrical stimulation lasted 30min. The needles on body acupoints will be also retained for 30min. Acupuncture intervention will be conducted for 2 sessions per week over 8 consecutive weeks. The determination of 8 weeks of the treatment duration will be based on the fact that the robust effects of acupuncture in cancer patients will be generally observed within 8 weeks of treatment.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Jiangsu Health Vocational College

    collaborator UNKNOWN
  • Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University

    lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
QUADRUPLE
Model
SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age
60 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2023-09-30
Primary Completion
2025-12-31
Completion
2025-12-31

Countries

  • China

Study Locations

More Related Trials

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 NCT05876988 on ClinicalTrials.gov