Efficacy and Mechanisms of Acupuncture for Patients With Advanced Pancreatic Cancer Pain

Shanghai Cancer Hospital, China

Status and phase: Unknown; Phase 3

Conditions: Pain; Pancreatic Cancer

Treatments: Device: Placebo acupuncture; Device: Acupuncture

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT02510066

12401905600

Details and patient eligibility

About

This study compares the effect of acupuncture and placebo acupuncture on advanced pancreatic cancer pain and then investigates its potential mechanism of peripheral blood.

Full description

Acupuncture may alleviate abdominal or back pain of patients with advanced pancreatic cancer. Acupuncture participants would receive electroacupuncture on Jiaji (Ex-B2) points for 3 times in a week. Placebo acupuncture participants would receive placebo acupuncture on non-point points for the same period. Pain scores on numeric rating scale (NRS) and blood levels of β-endorphin and nerve growth factor are compared.

Enrollment: 62 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 75 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Advanced pancreatic cancer at Ⅲ-Ⅳ stage diagnosed by histological/cytological examination.
• Pain score of abdominal or back pain ≥3 on a numeric rating scale (NRS) graduated from 0 to 10.
• Stable dose of analgesics at least 72 hours before randomization.
• Expected survival time more than 1 month.

Exclusion criteria

• Another cause for abdominal or back pain (such as prolapse of lumbar intervertebral disc, ulcer or other intra-abdominal disorder).
• Acupuncture treatment in the past.
• Contraindications for the use of acupuncture (such as severe allergies, bleeding tendency, infectious dermatosis and ulcer or scar at points).
• Unable to give informed consent.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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62 participants in 2 patient groups, including a placebo group

Acupuncture

Experimental group

Description:

Acupuncture participants would receive electroacupuncture on Jiaji (Ex-B2) points for 3 times in a week.

Treatment:

Device: Acupuncture

Placebo acupuncture

Placebo Comparator group

Description:

Placebo acupuncture participants would receive placebo acupuncture on non-point points for the same period.

Treatment:

Device: Placebo acupuncture