Acupuncture in Treating Women With Stage I, Stage II, or Stage III Breast Cancer With Aromatase Inhibitor-Related Joint Pain

April 7, 2020 updated by: Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania

Acupuncture and Aromatase Inhibitor Related Arthralgia

RATIONALE: Acupuncture may help relieve moderate or severe joint pain caused by aromatase inhibitors.

PURPOSE: This randomized phase II trial is studying acupuncture in treating women with stage I, stage II, or stage III breast cancer with aromatase inhibitor-related joint pain.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:

I. To determine the overall effect of acupuncture for reducing arthralgia among breast cancer survivors (BCS) receiving AIs.

II. To explore the specific effect of acupuncture needling for reducing arthralgia among BCS receiving AIs.

III. To elucidate the relationship between response expectancy measured by the Acupuncture Expectancy Scale (AES) and clinical response to acupuncture defined as percent reduction of BPI pain severity score at the end of intervention.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:

I. To explore the effects of acupuncture on other common symptoms including fatigue, insomnia, and psychological distress among BCS who experience joint pain.

II. To determine the correlation among pain and fatigue, insomnia, and psychological distress using previously validated instruments.

III. To explore the effects of acupuncture on quality of life among BCS who experience joint pain.

IV. To explore the effect of acupuncture on objective measure of sleep and activity.

V. To identify potential genetic determinants to response to acupuncture.

OUTLINE:

Patients are randomized to 1 of 3 treatment arms.

ARM I (Acupuncture): Patients undergo 10, 20-minute sessions of acupuncture over 8 weeks (twice weekly for 2 weeks and 6 weekly treatments).

ARM II (Placebo): Patients undergo 10, 20-minute sessions of sham acupuncture treatments over 8 weeks (twice weekly for 2 weeks and 6 weekly treatments) via Streitberger needles at non-acupuncture points.

ARM III (Control): Wait-list control patients are contacted by phone at the same frequency as real and placebo acupuncture groups for data collection at weeks 1, 4, and 8.

After completion of study treatment, patients are followed at 4 weeks.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
76

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Pennsylvania
      • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 19104
        • Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

Female

Description

Inclusion

  • History of stage I, II, or III breast cancer
  • Visit with oncologist within the previous 3-month period and free of disease by clinical examination and history
  • Currently receiving aromatase inhibitors (Anastrozole, Letrozole, or Exemestane) as per chart abstraction
  • Postmenopausal, as defined by cessation of menses for a least 1 year or FSH > 40 mlU/mL
  • Can understand written English
  • Having worst joint pain rated at least 4 or greater on an 11-point (0-10) numerical rating scale in the preceding week
  • Having had at least 15 days with pain in the preceding 30 days
  • Having had joint pain for at least 3 months
  • Joint pain attributed to the use of aromatase inhibitors
  • Willingness to adhere to all study-related procedures including randomization to one of the three possible choices: real acupuncture, placebo acupuncture, and wait-list control

Exclusion

  • Women with metastatic (stage IV) breast cancer
  • Women having finished chemotherapy or radiation therapy less than 4 weeks prior to enrollment
  • History of bleeding disorder
  • Joint pain attributed to inflammatory arthritis (such as rheumatoid arthritis, gout, pseudo gout)
  • Having severe pain or non-inflammatory arthralgia prior to AI initiation per patient's history
  • Surgery or joint injection involving the treatment joint within the last 3 months
  • Have previously participated in the acupuncture trial for hot flashes in the last year

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Arm I (Acupuncture)
Patients undergo 10, 20-minute sessions of acupuncture over 8 weeks (twice weekly for 2 weeks and 6 weekly treatments).
Procedure: acupuncture therapy
Other Names:
  • acupuncture
Sham Comparator: Arm II (Placebo)
Patients undergo 10, 20-minute sessions of sham acupuncture treatments over 8 weeks (twice weekly for 2 weeks and 6 weekly treatments) via Streitberger needles at non-acupuncture points.
Procedure: sham intervention
Placebo acupuncture
No Intervention: Arm III (Control)
Wait-list control patients are contacted by phone at the same frequency as real and placebo acupuncture groups for data collection at weeks 1, 4, and 8.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Pain as measured by Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) pain severity score

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
BPI pain-related interference
Arthritis/disability specific outcomes as assessed by WOMAC index for lower extremities, quick D.A.S.H. for upper extremities, and the Physical Performance Test, 9-item
Patient perceived clinical importance of acupuncture for AI-related arthralgia as assessed by Patient Global Impression of Change (PGIC)
Other coexisting symptoms such as fatigue, psychological distress, and insomnia as assessed by the Brief Fatigue Inventory (BFI), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and City of Hope Quality of Life Questionnaire

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Jun Mao, Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
May 1, 2009

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
October 1, 2012

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
April 21, 2016

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
November 12, 2009

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
November 12, 2009

First Posted (Estimate)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
November 13, 2009

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
April 8, 2020

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
April 7, 2020

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
April 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • UPCC 07109
  • NCI-2009-01358

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Cookie Settings

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. For more details carefully read our Privacy and Cookies Policy. ...>>>You can change your preferences or withdraw your consent at any time by deleting the cookies from your website or computer as described in the policy. Please accept it and choose your preferences by ticking the corresponding boxes in the "Manage Settings" section below. Please carefully read our Terms of Service before you proceed with using any part of this website.
«Manage Settings