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Insomnia, SecondaryNCT03762694

The Effect of Acupuncture for Insomnia in Breast Cancer Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy

A study testing Acupuncture in people with Insomnia, Secondary and Breast Cancer Female, run by The University of Hong Kong at 1 site in Hong Kong.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

This pilot study is designed to determine whether acupuncture is a feasible, effective and safe method for alleviating insomnia among breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy as compared with a wait-list control. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 to 75 years, women only
What is being tested?
Acupuncture
Type of treatment
Medical device
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
30 participants
Where
1 siteHong Kong
Study dates
26 Mar 2019to 31 Oct 2020
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 18 to 75 years
  • Women only
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • Female patients between 18 and 75 years of age;
  • Diagnosis of stage (American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) TNM) I-IV breast cancer;
  • Currently receiving chemotherapy, or have completed chemotherapy no more than 6 months;
  • Insomnia onset after the diagnosis of breast cancer;
  • Insomnia occurs at least 3 nights per week, and presents for at least 1 month, with fulfilment of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5) diagnostic criteria for brief insomnia disorder;
  • Insomnia severity as defined by an ISI score of no less than 10 in the past 2 weeks;
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  • Expected survival time of more than 6 months;
  • Ability to understand the nature of the study and willingness to give informed consent;
  • Ability to provide responses during outcome measurement.

Who cannot join

  • Insomnia before the diagnosis of breast cancer;
  • Other sleep disorder (e.g., obstructive sleep apnoea);
  • Shift work or irregular sleep pattern;
  • Severe visual, hearing or language defects;
  • Severe hematological dysfunction (platelet count <60,000/μL, haemoglobin <8 g/dL or absolute neutrophil count <1000/μL);
  • With pacemakers or other electronic implants that could interfere with electroacupuncture;
  • History of acupuncture use in the previous 3 months;
  • Participation in other clinical trials with intervention within 3 months of the beginning of the trial.

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

Hong Kong1 site
  • Queen Mary Hospital

    Hong Kong

Other trials in Hong Kong

About this study

Official title: The Effect of Acupuncture for Insomnia in Breast Cancer Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy: A Randomized, Wait-list Controlled Pilot Study

This pilot study is designed to determine whether acupuncture is a feasible, effective and safe method for alleviating insomnia among breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy as compared with a wait-list control.

Read the detailed description

Hypothesis:

Acupuncture is a feasible, effective and safe method for alleviation of insomnia symptoms in breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy as compared with a wait-list control.

Objective:

To determine whether the insomnia condition in the acupuncture group is significantly improved when compared to the wait-list control group.

Design and strategy:

This is a randomized, wait-list controlled, assessor-blinded trial. 30 subjects will be recruited and randomized (in 1:1 ratio) to receive either acupuncture treatment or wait-list control. All patients in the 2 groups will receive routine Western medical care for symptom management.

Study instrument:

Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) will be employed as a primary outcome assessment.

Intervention:

In the treatment group, 12 sessions acupuncture treatment (electroacupuncture \& auricular acupressure) will be given twice a week for 6 weeks after randomization. In the wait-list control group, no treatment except routine care will be given at the first 6 weeks, followed by 12 sessions treatment as treatment group.

Main outcome measures:

Primary outcome: ISI scores will be measured at week 0, 3, 6, 10, 14.

Secondary outcomes:

Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Sleep diary, Actiwatch, Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast Cancer, and adverse events will be documented and compared between groups.

Data analysis: The primary endpoint will be the continuous ISI score. For the primary analysis, if normality of the ISI or its transformation can be achieved, a two-sample t-test on the average ISI score will be performed to access the significance of the treatment effects; otherwise, a nonparametric approach will be taken.

Expected outcome: ISI score of the acupuncture group is expected to be significantly lower than wait-list control group after 6 weeks of treatment.

Being tested
Acupuncture
Keywords
Acupuncture, Insomnia, Breast cancer, Chemotherapy
Medical subject headings
Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders, Breast Neoplasms

What participants receive

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

  • AcupunctureDevice

    Electroacupuncture (EA) and Auricular Acupuncture (AA)

Study groups in NCT03762694
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Electroacupuncture (EA) and Auricular Acupuncture (AA)Experimental12 sessions acupuncture treatment (EA+AA) will be given twice a week for 6 weeks after randomization.
Receives: Device: Acupuncture
Wait-list controlNo interventionNo treatment except routine care will be given at the first 6 weeks, followed by 12 sessions treatment as Acupuncture group.

What is being measured

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

  1. Change in Insomnia Severity Index (ISI)

    Measured: week 0, 3, 6 (primary outcome), 10, 14

Secondary outcomes (5)
  1. Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index

    Measured: week 0, 3, 6, 10, 14

  2. Sleep diary

    Measured: week 0, 6

  3. Actigraphy

    Measured: week 0, 6

  4. Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast Cancer

    Measured: week 0, 6, 10, 14

  5. Adverse events

    Measured: week 0 to week 6

Timeline

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

  1. First posted4 Dec 2018
  2. Study start26 Mar 2019
  3. Primary completion9 Jun 2020
  4. Study completion31 Oct 2020

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
Treatment
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Masking
Double blind
Who is masked
Investigator, Outcomes assessor
Enrolment
30 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT03762694
Sponsor's protocol ID
UW 18-526
Status last verified
Apr 2022
First submitted
2 Dec 2018
Last updated
26 Apr 2022
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No

Publications

  • Zhang J, Qin Z, So TH, Chen H, Lam WL, Yam LL, Yan Chan P, Lao L, Zhang ZJ. Electroacupuncture Plus Auricular Acupressure for Chemotherapy-Associated Insomnia in Breast Cancer Patients: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial. Integr Cancer Ther. 2021 Jan-Dec;20:15347354211019103. doi: 10.1177/15347354211019103.

    PubMed 34036813

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Acupuncture in people with Insomnia, Secondary and Breast Cancer Female, run by The University of Hong Kong at 1 site in Hong Kong.

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 9 inclusion and 8 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: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 26 Apr 2022. 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 Hong Kong. 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 is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

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?

Change in Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) (time frame: week 0, 3, 6 (primary outcome), 10, 14). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT03762694, which also lists 1 linked publication.

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 26 Apr 2022.

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