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Head and Neck CancerNCT00623129

Electroacupuncture in Treating Chronic Dry Mouth Caused By Radiation Therapy in Patients With Head and Neck Cancer

A study testing questionnaire administration, electroacupuncture therapy and management of therapy complications in people with Head and Neck Cancer and Radiation Toxicity, run by Mayo Clinic at 1 site in United States.

Terminated

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

Official record
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Trial summary

RATIONALE: Electroacupuncture may help relieve chronic dry mouth caused by radiation therapy. It is not yet known whether electroacupuncture is more effective than a placebo in treating chronic dry mouth caused by radiation therapy in patients with head and neck cancer. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 21 to 89 years
What is being tested?
questionnaire administration, electroacupuncture therapy and management of therapy complications
Type of treatment
Surgery or procedure
How many people
30 participants
Where
1 siteUnited States
Study dates
Feb 2006to Nov 2010
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

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 21 to 89 years
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult, Older adult

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

  • Diagnosis of primary head and neck cancer
  • Has undergone radiotherapy either as primary or adjuvant therapy ≥ 6 months ago
  • One or more parotid glands must have been in the prior radiotherapy field
  • Residual xerostomia after radiotherapy deemed to be significant by patient
  • Failed to respond to a trial of pilocarpine for relief of xerostomia

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

  • ECOG performance status 0-3
  • Life expectancy ≥ 1 year (based on physician's judgment)
  • Able to attend the scheduled study treatments
  • Alert and mentally competent
  • Not pregnant
  • Willing to use contraception during study treatment, if of childbearing age
  • No history of Sjögren's disease
  • No cardiac pacemaker or any other electrical devices permanently implanted within the body (e.g., dorsal column stimulator)

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

  • See Disease Characteristics
  • More than 2 weeks since prior medication that may cause mouth dryness (e.g., antihistamines, narcotics, tricyclic antidepressants)

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

United States1 site
  • Mayo Clinic in Arizona

    Scottsdale, Arizona, 85259-5499

Other trials in United States

About this study

Official title: Electroacupuncture for Xerostomia in Head and Neck Patients

RATIONALE: Electroacupuncture may help relieve chronic dry mouth caused by radiation therapy. It is not yet known whether electroacupuncture is more effective than a placebo in treating chronic dry mouth caused by radiation therapy in patients with head and neck cancer.

PURPOSE: This randomized clinical trial is studying electroacupuncture to see how well it works compared with a placebo in treating chronic dry mouth caused by radiation therapy in patients with head and neck cancer.

Read the detailed description

OBJECTIVES:

  • To determine if electrostimulation using the Liss stimulator can objectively improve salivary flow as measured by sialometry compared to a placebo device in patients with chronic radiation-induced xerostomia and head and neck cancer.
  • To determine if electrostimulation using the Liss Stimulator can improve the subjective sensation of mouth dryness compared to a placebo device.
  • To characterize the effect of electrostimulation using the Liss stimulator on quality of life compared to a placebo device.

OUTLINE: Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 treatment arms.

  • Arm I: Patients undergo placement of electrodes to the following acupuncture points: stomach, liver, pericardium, small intestine, and large intestine. Patients then undergo electro-stimulation of the acupuncture points using the Liss Stimulator for 20 minutes once a day for 10 days and then 3 times a week for 2 weeks.
  • Arm II (placebo): Patients undergo placement of electrodes to the following acupuncture points: stomach, liver, pericardium, small intestine, and large intestine. A device that does not produce an electric current is placed over the electrodes for 20 minutes once a day for 10 days and then 3 times a week for 2 weeks.

Patients complete questionnaires, including the Brief Pain Inventory, the Xerostomia Inventory, and a subscale of the University of Washington Head and Neck Symptom Scale, at baseline, on days 5 and 10 of treatment, and at 1, 3, and 6 months after completion of treatment. Sialometry (unstimulated and stimulated whole saliva measurement) is also performed at the same time points.

After completion of study treatment, patients are followed at 1, 3, and 6 months.

Being tested
questionnaire administration, electroacupuncture therapy, management of therapy complications, quality-of-life assessment
Keywords
hypopharyngeal cancer, lip and oral cavity cancer, laryngeal cancer, nasopharyngeal cancer, oropharyngeal cancer, paranasal sinus and nasal cavity cancer, salivary gland cancer, xerostomia, radiation toxicity
Medical subject headings
Head and Neck Neoplasms, Radiation Injuries, Xerostomia, Hypopharyngeal Neoplasms, Mouth Neoplasms, Laryngeal Neoplasms, Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms, Oropharyngeal Neoplasms

What participants receive

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

  • questionnaire administrationOther

  • electroacupuncture therapyProcedure or surgery

  • management of therapy complicationsProcedure or surgery

  • quality-of-life assessmentProcedure or surgery

What is being measured

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

  1. Salivary flow as measured by sialometry at baseline, on days 5 and 10 of treatment, and at 1, 3, and 6 months after completion of treatment

  2. Subjective sensation of mouth dryness as measured by quality of life questionnaires at baseline, on days 5 and 10 of treatment, and at 1, 3, and 6 months after completion of treatment

  3. Quality of life as measured by quality of life questionnaires at baseline, on days 5 and 10 of treatment, and at 1, 3, and 6 months after completion of treatment

Timeline

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

  1. First posted25 Feb 2008 (estimated)
  2. Study startFeb 2006
  3. Primary completionNov 2010

Why it stopped: Slow accrual; did not meet accrual goal

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
Masking
Single blind
Enrolment
30 participants (estimated)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT00623129
Sponsor's protocol ID
CDR0000583031
Other IDs
P30CA015083, MCS285, 2327-05, NCI-2010-01835
Status last verified
Aug 2011
First submitted
22 Feb 2008
Last updated
19 Apr 2016
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
Yes

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing questionnaire administration, electroacupuncture therapy and management of therapy complications in people with Head and Neck Cancer and Radiation Toxicity, run by Mayo Clinic 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?

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 19 Apr 2016. 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?

The study was stopped early (reason given: Slow accrual; did not meet accrual goal). Results are not available in the source record.

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?

Salivary flow as measured by sialometry at baseline, on days 5 and 10 of treatment, and at 1, 3, and 6 months after completion of treatment. The study lists 3 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 19 Apr 2016.

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