Hypnosedation in Relaxing Patients Undergoing Breast Cancer Surgery

March 3, 2026 updated by: M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

Biobehavioral Effects of Hypnosis During Breast Cancer Surgery

This clinical trial studies how well hypnosedation works in relaxing and reducing the need for general anesthesia in patients who are undergoing breast cancer surgery. Hypnosedation is a technique that places patients under conscious sedation where they remain awake and numbed during surgery and involves the use of words and images to help patients relax and to affect their thoughts about what is happening during surgery.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Active, not recruiting

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. Determine the feasibility of conducting a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of hypnosedation (HS) during breast cancer surgery.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:

I. Assess the preliminary efficacy of HS with local anesthesia versus (vs) opioid based general anesthesia (GA) on reducing self-reported anxiety, pain, nausea, vomiting, cancer-related symptoms, and surgical complication rates.

II. Preliminarily evaluate changes in immune markers (natural killer cell function, cytokines, and resolution of inflammatory response markers) and endocrine function (epinephrine, norepinephrine, and cortisol).

III. Preliminarily identify changes in neurological activity as assessed through electroencephalogram (EEG) activity.

IV. Preliminarily evaluate the group differences in medical costs.

OUTLINE: Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 groups.

GROUP I: Patients undergo hypnosedation performed by a mind-body specialist before surgery begins and continuing until after surgery is complete.

GROUP II: Patients speak to a mind-body specialist before surgery and prior to receiving general anesthesia.

After completion of study intervention, patients are followed up at days 1, 3, 5, 7, and 14.

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.
50

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 Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Texas
      • Houston, Texas, United States, 77030
        • M D Anderson Cancer Center

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

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Female clinical stage 0/1 breast cancers patients scheduled to undergo a unilateral, segmental mastectomy +/- sentinel lymph node dissection
  • Able to read, speak, and write English or Spanish

Exclusion Criteria:

  • A significant anxiety disorder
  • Significant pain during core biopsy as reported by the patient
  • Received neoadjuvant chemotherapy, any autoimmune or immunological disease or taking any immune suppression drugs
  • Plastic surgery involvement for oncoplastic reconstruction
  • If surgery is likely greater than 3 hours

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: Group I (hypnosedation)
Patients undergo hypnosedation performed by a mind-body specialist before surgery begins and continuing until after surgery is complete.
Other: Questionnaire Administration
Ancillary studies
Behavioral: Hypnosedation
Undergo hypnosedation
Active Comparator: Group II (verbal support)
Patients speak to a mind-body specialist before surgery and prior to receiving general anesthesia.
Other: Questionnaire Administration
Ancillary studies
Behavioral: Verbal Support
Speak with min-body specialist
Other Names:
  • Verbal Support Therapy

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
Measure Description
Time Frame
Hypnosedation (HS) feasibility
Time Frame: Up to 1 day
Will be determined by two criteria: overall accrual and successful delivery of HS. The intervention will be deemed feasible if: 1) >= 30% of enrolled patients consent and >= 60% of enrolled patients in HS complete surgery without the need of general anesthesia. The study will calculate rates, frequencies, and 90% confidence intervals (CIs), as applicable.
Up to 1 day

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
Measure Description
Time Frame
Efficacy of HS
Time Frame: Up to 1 day
Will estimate the mean differences of these outcomes between groups and corresponding 90% confidence intervals at specified points in time (baseline, during the procedure, if applicable, and post-procedure), as well as across time points, using linear mixed models (LMMs). Will similarly evaluate the difference in the slope of change for these outcomes between arms. Baseline covariates such as those used in the minimization will be controlled for in our analyses. Time-varying predictors (such as electroencephalograms [EEGs]) may be controlled for in additional exploratory analyses. Standard model diagnostics will be applied to check for model assumptions, such as normality of the residual distribution.
Up to 1 day
Assessment of changes in immune markers and endocrine function
Time Frame: Up to 14 days post-surgery
Will estimate the mean differences of these outcomes between groups and corresponding 90% confidence intervals at specified points in time (baseline, during the procedure, if applicable, and post-procedure), as well as across time points, using linear mixed models (LMMs). Will similarly evaluate the difference in the slope of change for these outcomes between arms. Baseline covariates such as those used in the minimization will be controlled for in our analyses. Time-varying predictors (such as electroencephalograms [EEGs]) may be controlled for in additional exploratory analyses. Standard model diagnostics will be applied to check for model assumptions, such as normality of the residual distribution.
Up to 14 days post-surgery
Changes in EEG activity as assessed using standardized low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (sLORETA)
Time Frame: Baseline up to 14 days post-surgery
One test for each of the nine frequency band pass regions will be conducted as well as voxel-by-voxel t-tests computed for the whole data set. For each subject, power means within the frequency bands will be summed across all electrode sites in both absolute and relative power. Within-group differences will be examined using paired-sample t-tests. Between-group differences will be examined using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) with the condition as the fixed variable, baseline EEG scores as the covariate, and post intervention scores as the dependent variable. Percent signal changes will be computed at all six time points of interest in our predetermined regions of interest (ROIs).
Baseline up to 14 days post-surgery
Group differences in medical costs
Time Frame: From the date of surgery up to 14 days
Will obtain detailed billing records from the date of surgery to the point of discharge at 14 days (+/- 5 days) and quantify medical costs in two ways. The first method is to apply cost-to-charge ratio to convert charges on the billing records to cost. The second method will identify from the study's institutional database each billing code appearing in patient's professional and technical charges, and calculate costs using Medicare reimbursement rates corresponding to current procedural terminology (CPT) codes. Because medical costs are highly skewed, the study will apply the non-parametric bootstrapping method to compare difference in medical costs between groups.
From the date of surgery up to 14 days

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.
M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
National Cancer Institute (NCI)

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: Lorenzo Cohen, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

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.

Helpful Links

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 (Actual)

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.
March 7, 2017

Primary Completion (Estimated)

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.
April 30, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

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 30, 2027

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).
January 4, 2017

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.
January 4, 2017

First Posted (Estimated)

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.
January 6, 2017

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.
March 5, 2026

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.
March 3, 2026

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.
March 1, 2026

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.
  • 2016-0599 (Other Identifier: M D Anderson Cancer Center)
  • P30CA016672 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)
  • NCI-2018-01241 (Registry Identifier: CTRP (Clinical Trial Reporting Program))

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

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.

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