Feasibility of Auricular Acupressure for Appetite and Weight in Patients With Stage II-IV Gastric, Esophageal, and Pancreatic Cancer

Summary

This clinical trial evaluates the feasibility and acceptability of acupressure to the ear (auricular) to address appetite and weight in patients with stage II-IV gastric, esophageal, or pancreatic cancer. Cancer anorexia, the abnormal loss of appetite, directly leads to cancer-associated weight loss (cachexia) through malnourishment, reduced caloric intake, treatment side-effects, and other modifiable risk factors. Cachexia prolongs length of hospital stay for patients, negatively impacts treatment tolerance and adherence, and reduces overall patient quality of life. Auricular acupressure is a form of micro-acupuncture that exerts its effect by stimulating the central nervous system using adhesive taped pellets applied to specific locations on the external ear. The use of these pellets to deliver auricular acupressure has been shown to improve pain, fatigue, insomnia, nausea and vomiting, depression, and quality of life in both cancer and non-cancer settings. Auricular acupressure is a safe, inexpensive, and non-invasive approach to addressing cancer-related symptoms and treatment side-effects and may be effective at improving appetite and weight loss in stage II-IV gastric, esophageal, and pancreatic cancer patients.

Conditions

• Clinical Stage II Esophageal Adenocarcinoma AJCC v8
• Clinical Stage II Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma AJCC v8
• Clinical Stage II Gastric Cancer AJCC v8
• Clinical Stage III Esophageal Adenocarcinoma AJCC v8
• Clinical Stage III Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma AJCC v8
• Clinical Stage III Gastric Cancer AJCC v8
• Clinical Stage IV Esophageal Adenocarcinoma AJCC v8
• Clinical Stage IV Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma AJCC v8
• Clinical Stage IV Gastric Cancer AJCC v8
• Stage II Pancreatic Cancer AJCC v8
• Stage III Pancreatic Cancer AJCC v8
• Stage IV Pancreatic Cancer AJCC v8

Interventions

PROCEDURE

Acupressure Therapy

Undergo auricular acupressure

OTHER

Best Practice

Receive usual care

PROCEDURE

Biospecimen Collection

Undergo collection of blood samples

OTHER

Questionnaire Administration

Ancillary studies

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)

  collaborator NIH

• National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS)

  collaborator NIH

• University of Washington

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Blake Langley · Fred Hutch/University of Washington Cancer Consortium

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Masking

DOUBLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

65 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2024-07-22

Primary Completion

2025-07-09

Completion

2025-07-09

Countries

• United States

Study Locations