Acupressure for Anxiety in Cancer Patients

Overseen By Clinical Trials Referral Office

Age: 18+

Sex: Any

Trial Phase: Academic

Sponsor: Mayo Clinic

Disqualifiers: Under 18, Not on chemotherapy, others

No Placebo Group All trial participants will receive the active study treatment (no placebo)

Approved in 2 Jurisdictions This treatment is already approved in other countries

Compensation: Varies

Number of Visits: 3

Duration: 1 session

What You Need to Know Before You Apply

What is the purpose of this trial?

This trial explores whether acupressure, a technique applying gentle pressure on specific body points, can reduce anxiety in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Anxiety can worsen other symptoms, such as nausea and overall poor quality of life. The study aims to determine if acupressure is an effective non-medicinal method for managing these feelings. It suits patients actively receiving chemotherapy at the Mayo Clinic who feel anxious and are open to trying acupressure. Participants will have short acupressure sessions and can also learn to perform it at home. As an unphased trial, this study offers patients the chance to explore a non-medicinal approach to managing anxiety during chemotherapy.

Will I have to stop taking my current medications?

The trial information does not specify whether you need to stop taking your current medications. It focuses on using acupressure to help with anxiety during chemotherapy.

What prior data suggests that acupressure is safe for cancer patients?

Research has shown that acupressure is generally safe and easy to manage. Studies have found that it can greatly reduce anxiety in cancer patients with very few side effects. Reports of negative reactions are rare, making it a safe option for those seeking to manage anxiety without medication. This gentle, noninvasive method can help improve quality of life during challenging times. ^{1 2 3 4 5}

Why are researchers excited about this trial?

Unlike standard treatments for anxiety in cancer patients, which often involve medication or therapy, acupressure offers a non-invasive and drug-free alternative. Researchers are excited about acupressure because it leverages the body's natural pressure points to potentially relieve anxiety without the side effects associated with medications. This technique is easy to learn, allowing patients to use it at home, empowering them to manage their anxiety more independently.

What evidence suggests that acupressure might be an effective treatment for anxiety?

Research has shown that acupressure, which participants in this trial will receive, can help lower anxiety in cancer patients. One study found that patients who received acupressure felt significantly less anxious than those who did not. Another study found that both acupuncture and acupressure reduced anxiety and depression in cancer patients. These findings suggest that acupressure could be a helpful, noninvasive way to manage anxiety for those undergoing chemotherapy. Overall, acupressure is easy to tolerate and has very few side effects, making it a promising option for patients seeking alternative ways to relieve anxiety. ^{1 3 6 7 8}

Who Is on the Research Team?

Laura S. Rhee, D.O.

Principal Investigator

Mayo Clinic in Rochester

Are You a Good Fit for This Trial?

This trial is for cancer patients experiencing anxiety during chemotherapy. It's open to those interested in non-medicinal symptom management. Specific eligibility details are not provided, but typically participants must meet certain health criteria.

Inclusion Criteria

Report anxiety as a 1 or higher, on a scale from 0 (no anxiety) to 4 (severe anxiety)

I am currently receiving chemotherapy at the Mayo Clinic.

I am over 18 years old.

Exclusion Criteria

Does not meet the inclusion criteria

Timeline for a Trial Participant

Screening

Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial

2-4 weeks

Treatment

Participants undergo acupressure over 15-120 seconds at a time for up to 15 minutes during chemotherapy sessions

1 session

1 visit (in-person)

Education

Optional education session on using acupressure at home

1 session

1 visit (in-person)

Follow-up

Participants are monitored for changes in anxiety after the acupressure intervention

1 week

1 visit (virtual)

What Are the Treatments Tested in This Trial?

Interventions

• Acupressure

Trial Overview The study tests if acupressure can reduce anxiety in chemotherapy patients. It includes educational sessions, questionnaires, electronic health record reviews, and the application of acupressure therapy.

How Is the Trial Designed?

Group I: Supportive Care (acupressure) Experimental Treatment 4 Interventions

Patients undergo acupressure over 15-120 seconds at a time for up to 15 minutes. After completion of the session, patients may optionally receive an education session on using acupressure at home.

Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?

Mayo Clinic

Lead Sponsor

Trials

3,427

Recruited

3,221,000+

Published Research Related to This Trial

Acupoint stimulation, particularly acupressure on the P6 acupoint, has shown positive effects in managing chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting in breast cancer patients, with 88% of the 26 trials reviewed reporting beneficial outcomes.

However, only 35% of the trials were of high quality, indicating a need for more rigorously designed studies to confirm the efficacy of acupoint stimulation for other therapy-related adverse events.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

The efficacy of acupoint stimulation for the management of therapy-related adverse events in patients with breast cancer: a systematic review. Chao, LF., Zhang, AL., Liu, HE., et al.[2022]

Somatic acupoint stimulation (SAS) has moderate evidence showing it can significantly reduce anxiety in cancer patients, with effect sizes indicating meaningful improvements (SMD = -0.52 for acupuncture and SMD = -0.89 for acupressure).

While SAS also appears to decrease depression in cancer patients (SMD = -1.26 for acupuncture and SMD = -1.42 for acupressure), the evidence for this effect is rated as low, and no significant differences were found between true and sham stimulation, highlighting the need for more rigorous studies.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Effects of somatic acupoint stimulation on anxiety and depression in cancer patients: An updated systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Wang, T., Tan, JB., Yao, LQ., et al.[2023]

In a randomized controlled trial involving 90 cancer patients undergoing bone marrow biopsy, acupressure significantly reduced both pain intensity (average score of 4.9) and anxiety levels (average score of 1.5) compared to the control and placebo groups.

The study suggests that acupressure is a cost-effective and easy-to-implement method that can be beneficial in clinical settings for managing pain and anxiety in patients with cancer.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

The effect of acupressure on pain, anxiety, and the physiological indexes of patients with cancer undergoing bone marrow biopsy. Sharifi Rizi, M., Shamsalinia, A., Ghaffari, F., et al.[2018]

Auricular acupressure significantly improved the quality of life for women with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy, particularly in reducing nausea, vomiting, and breast symptoms, based on a randomized trial with 54 participants over 12 weeks.

The intervention was found to be safe, effective, low-cost, and easy to apply by trained nurses, suggesting it could be a valuable complementary therapy for enhancing the well-being of breast cancer patients.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Auricular acupressure in the quality of life of women with breast cancer: a randomized clinical trial. Vallim, ETA., Marques, ADCB., Coelho, RCFP., et al.[2022]

Acupressure significantly reduces anxiety levels, with a large effect size (standardized mean difference of 1.152) based on a systematic review of 27 studies, indicating its potential as an effective treatment option.

The effectiveness of acupressure varies by participant type, showing greater benefits for inpatients and preoperative patients, although the high heterogeneity among studies suggests that results should be interpreted with caution.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Effects of Acupressure on Anxiety: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Chen, SR., Hou, WH., Lai, JN., et al.[2022]

Auricular acupressure (AA) significantly reduces cancer-related fatigue (CRF) in lung cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, particularly for physical and affective fatigue, based on a study of 100 patients over 9 weeks.

AA using Semen Vaccariae (SV) is more effective for alleviating physical fatigue, while AA with magnetic beads is better for reducing anxiety, although AA did not show significant improvements in sleep quality.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Auricular acupressure for cancer-related fatigue during lung cancer chemotherapy: a randomised trial. Lin, L., Zhang, Y., Qian, HY., et al.[2021]

Acupuncture is a feasible treatment option for breast cancer patients in a hospital setting, as demonstrated in a study with 20 participants undergoing postoperative care.

The study found that acupuncture significantly reduced anxiety, tension, and pain levels in these patients, indicating its potential as a beneficial intervention during recovery.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Acupuncture in the postoperative setting for breast cancer patients: a feasibility study. Mallory, MJ., Croghan, KA., Sandhu, NP., et al.[2022]

Self-acupressure was found to be feasible and showed clinical significance in reducing insomnia, anxiety, and depression symptoms in cancer patients, particularly in the true acupressure group after 4 weeks of intervention.

Both true and sham acupressure groups reported lower insomnia and anxiety scores compared to the enhanced standard care group, indicating potential effectiveness and a possible placebo effect in managing these symptoms.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Pilot randomized sham-controlled trial of self-acupressure to manage the symptom cluster of insomnia, depression, and anxiety in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Hoang, HTX., Molassiotis, A., Chan, CW., et al.[2022]

A retrospective review of 32 cancer patients receiving virtual acupressure sessions showed a significant reduction in overall symptom burden, with a decrease of 4.9 points on the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS) after follow-up, indicating potential efficacy of this remote intervention.

The study highlighted that virtual acupressure not only reduced total symptom burden but also improved physical and emotional symptoms, suggesting it could be a valuable supportive care option for cancer patients during disruptions in in-person services.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Virtual acupressure for symptom management in cancer populations during COVID-19: a retrospective analysis. Yang, E., Lu, W., Tanasijevic, AM., et al.[2023]

Auricular acupressure significantly improves sleep quality in cancer patients, as evidenced by a reduction in the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) score, with a mean difference of -3.88, based on a meta-analysis of 6 trials involving 485 participants.

The intervention showed no serious side effects, with only one trial reporting slight and transient pain, indicating that auricular acupressure is a safe option for managing sleep disturbances in this patient population.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Auricular Acupressure Therapy for Patients with Cancer with Sleep Disturbance: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Wang, Y., Zhang, J., Jin, Y., et al.[2022]

Citations

1. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4828553/

Acupoints Stimulation for Anxiety and Depression in Cancer ... This study aims at concluding the current evidence on the therapeutic effects of acupoints stimulation for cancer patients with anxiety and depression.

2. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4441788/

Acupressure and Anxiety in Cancer Patients - PMC The results of this study showed that performing acupressure significantly decreased mean score of state anxiety in the acupressure group. While performing fake ...

3. clinicaltrials.gov clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06768359?cond=neoplasms%20%22quality%20of%20life%22&aggFilters=status:not%20rec&rank=8

The Effect of Manual Acupuncture and Standard Therapy ... The goal of this clinical trial is to prove that the combination of acupuncture therapy and standard therapy is more effective in reducing anxiety and improving ...

4. e-jar.org e-jar.org/journal/view.html?pn=search&uid=2674&vmd=Full

An Observational Study on Assessing the Perceived ... A systematic review showed that acupuncture and moxibustion therapy significantly improved the symptoms of anxiety and depression compared with ...

5. frontiersin.org frontiersin.org/journals/oncology/articles/10.3389/fonc.2022.1036634/epub

Acupuncture and acupressure with improved cancer- ... The overall effectiveness rate also showed that acupuncture and acupressure reduced anxiety and depression in cancer patients. Discussion.

6. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9791202/

Acupuncture and acupressure with improved cancer ... This study indicates that acupuncture and acupressure are as effective as medication in treating cancer-related depression (p ≤ 0.00001, Figure 2 ). The ...

7. clinicaltrials.gov clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT03823456

Self-acupressure for Cancer-related Symptom Cluster of ... Based on the literature review, acupressure can potentially reduce insomnia as well as other symptoms in cancer patients.

8. sciencedirect.com sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213422025000939

Acupuncture versus cognitive behavioral therapy for ... Based on the findings of our study, both acupuncture and CBT-I should be considered viable treatments for cancer survivors experiencing comorbid anxiety and ...