AzTrials
AzTrials

MucositisGCC1229NCT01883908

Acupuncture in Reducing the Severity of Chemoradiation-induced Mucositis in Patients With Oropharyngeal Cancer

A study testing Acupuncture with Seirin® needles and Usual medical care in people with Mucositis and Oropharyngeal Cancer, run by University of Maryland, Baltimore at 1 site in United States.

Terminated

Stopped early. The study ended before it was planned to and will not resume.

Official record
Search all trials

Trial summary

Patients are asked to be in this study if have oropharyngeal cancer and will be treated with chemotherapy and radiation. This research is being done to find out if acupuncture can reduce the mouth inflammation and pain caused by chemotherapy and radiation. Chemoradiation may cause mouth inflammation and pain. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 years and older
Conditions the study is for
Mucositis, Oropharyngeal Cancer
What is being tested?
Acupuncture with Seirin® needles and Usual medical care
Type of treatment
Medical device
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
4 participants
Where
1 siteUnited States
Study dates
Dec 2012to Feb 2015
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
Yes, posted in the registrySummary in the doctors' view

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 18 years and older
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • Documented diagnosis of oropharyngeal cancer.
  • The patient plans on undergoing external beam radiation with concomitant chemotherapy.
  • Eastern Cooperative Group in Oncology (ECOG) performance status 0-3.
  • Men and women who are ≥ 18 years old
  • The patient is aware of the nature of his or her diagnosis, understands the study regimen, its requirements, risks, and discomforts, and is able and willing to sign an informed consent form.

Who cannot join

  • Previous history of head and neck cancer.
  • Prior acupuncture within the past month.
  • Pre-existing active oral infection
  • Life expectancy is < 3 months.
  • Plan to go on experimental drug for head and neck cancer in the next 14 weeks.

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

United States1 site
  • University of Maryland Marlene & Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center

    Baltimore, Maryland, 21201

Other trials in United States

About this study

Official title: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial to Evaluate the Efficacy and Explore the Mechanism of Acupuncture in Reducing the Severity of Chemoradiation-induced Mucositis in Patients With Oropharyngeal Cancer.

Patients are asked to be in this study if have oropharyngeal cancer and will be treated with chemotherapy and radiation.

This research is being done to find out if acupuncture can reduce the mouth inflammation and pain caused by chemotherapy and radiation. Chemoradiation may cause mouth inflammation and pain.

Read more

Acupuncture is a medical technique of inserting very thin needles into the "energy points" on the body with the aim to restore health and well-being. It has been used widely to treat pain, such as lower back pain and joint pain. In this study we will assess the potential usefulness of acupuncture to decrease the severity of mucositis and mucositis-related mouth and throat pain in patients receiving chemoradiation for oropharyngeal cancer.

Mouth cancer patients receiving chemoradiation who have not had acupuncture within the last one month and who do not have a history of head and neck cancer may join this pilot study.

Read the detailed description

This is a single-center, randomized controlled pilot clinical trial (n=20) assessing the efficacy, feasibility and safety of acupuncture in reducing the severity of chemoradiation-induced oral mucositis (CRIOM) in patients with oropharyngeal cancer. Participants will be randomized to receive either usual medical care or acupuncture treatment plus usual medical care once a week for 8 weeks coinciding with their chemoradiation treatments. The length of the study will be 16 weeks: 8 weeks of treatment and two follow up visits at 4 weeks and 8 weeks after radiation (weeks 12 and 16). All subjects will receive usual medical care in addition to the study intervention. The Oral Mucositis Daily Questionnaire for Head and Neck Cancer patients (OMDQ) will be used to assess patients' self-reported chemoradiation-induced mucositis severity at baseline (before 1st acupuncture session), and daily throughout the course of radiation, as well as at the 12 and 16 week follow up visits. At baseline, weekly during radiation therapy, and at the 12 and 16 week follow up appointments, patients will complete the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy (FACT-G), Esophagus Cancer subscale (ESC) QOL, and the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy (FACIT)-Fatigue subscale questionnaires. Oral mucositis will also be assessed objectively by a trained member of the research team using both the Oral Mucositis Assessment Scale (OMAS) and the National Cancer Institute- Common Toxicity Criteria for Adverse Events (NCI-CTCAE) v3.0 measurement scale once a week for the first two weeks of chemoradiation treatment, then twice a week during weeks three through seven, and additionally once during week 8 and once at the 12 and 16 week follow up visits. Twice weekly measurements correspond to peak severity of mucositis during weeks three to seven, based on previous reports in the literature. Patients will be given a weekly diary to record oral analgesic intake. Lastly, 8 milliliters of blood and a saliva sample will be taken from the subjects at baseline (before 1st acupuncture session), weekly through radiation treatment, and at the week 12 and 16 follow up visits to measure changes in proinflammatory cytokines concentrations.

Being tested
Acupuncture with Seirin® needles, Usual medical care
Keywords
Acupuncture therapy, Mucositis, oropharyngeal cancer
Medical subject headings
Mucositis, Oropharyngeal Neoplasms

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • Acupuncture with Seirin® needlesDevice

    Participants will be randomized to receive either usual medical care or acupuncture treatment plus usual medical care once a week for 8 weeks coinciding with their chemoradiation treatments. The length of the study will be 16 weeks: 8 weeks of treatment and two follow up visits at 4 weeks and 8 weeks after radiation (weeks 12 and 16).

  • Usual medical careOther

    usual medical care such as viscous Lidocaine for relief of pain

Study groups in NCT01883908
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Acupuncture with Seirin® needlesExperimentalParticipants will be randomized to receive acupuncture treatment plus usual medical care once a week for 8 weeks coinciding with their chemoradiation treatments. The length of the study will be 16 weeks: 8 weeks of treatment and two follow up visits at 4 weeks and 8 weeks after radiation (weeks 12 and 16).
Receives: Device: Acupuncture with Seirin® needles; Other: Usual medical care
Usual medical careActive comparatorParticipants will be randomized to receive usual medical care for 8 weeks coinciding with their chemoradiation treatments. Patients will receive usual medical care such as viscous Lidocaine for relief of pain.
Receives: Other: Usual medical care

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Side Effects of Acupuncture Treatment

    All acupuncture side effects will be recorded

    Measured: 16 weeks

  2. Number of Patients Completing Acupuncture Treatment

    Feasibility is defined as greater than 80% patients in the trial completing at least 4 acupuncture sessions.

    Measured: 16 weeks

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted21 Jun 2013 (estimated)
  2. Study startDec 2012
  3. Primary completionJun 2014
  4. Study completionFeb 2015

Why it stopped: The project is terminated due to that fact that the PI has moved to another institution and there are no resources to keep the study open in either institution.

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Supportive care
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
4 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT01883908
Sponsor's protocol ID
HP-00053319
Other IDs
GCC1229
Acronym
GCC1229
Status last verified
Nov 2019
First submitted
13 Mar 2013
Last updated
7 Nov 2019
Data monitoring committee
Yes

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Acupuncture with Seirin® needles and Usual medical care in people with Mucositis and Oropharyngeal Cancer, run by University of Maryland, Baltimore at 1 site in United States.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 5 inclusion and 5 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: stopped early, as of the sponsor's last update on 7 Nov 2019. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

Yes. Results are posted in the registry (first posted 7 Oct 2015). A summary is in the For doctors view, and the full results are on ClinicalTrials.gov.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Side Effects of Acupuncture Treatment (time frame: 16 weeks). The study lists 2 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 7 Nov 2019.

Free account

Log in to keep searching

You’ve used your 3 free searches. AzTrials is free: log in or create a free account to keep searching clinical trials and save the ones you want to follow.

Create a free accountLog in