Superior Hypogastric Plexus Block Versus Pulsed Radiofrequency for Chronic Pelvic Cancer Pain

July 1, 2019 updated by: marina emeel helal, Assiut University

Superior Hypogastric Plexus Block and Pulsed Radiofrequency on Dorsal Root Ganglia of Sacral Nerves for Chronic Pelvic Cancer Pain

Cancer-related pain represents a major challenge for both clinicians and patients. This pain can be associated directly with the cancer or with certain treatments administered to the patient. 52.1% of cancer patients suffer from pain and that 62.6% are not satisfied with the current pain treatment. Pain prevalence is high in developing countries due to late diagnosis and major impediments to opioid access

Study Overview

Status

Status

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

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

pelvic cancer is a broad term encompassing malignant tumors of the bladder, prostate, cervix, endometrium, ovaries, and uterus, among others. Pain associated with pelvic cancer is one of the most debilitating symptoms experienced by affected patients. Multiple studies demonstrate that the prevalence of pain in patients with pelvic cancer is >50%, and can be upwards of 60% to 70% in patients with advanced or metastatic disease . Cancer patients with extension of tumor into the pelvis may experience severe pain. Oral or parenteral opioids may not only fail to provide relief, but may cause excessive sedation and other side effects. More invasive approaches may thus be needed to control pain and improve the quality of life. Since pelvic cancer pain is visceral in most cases, this could be achieved with percutaneous chemical neurolytic block of the superior hypogastric plexus . The superior hypogastric plexus is located at the anterior aspect of the L5 and S1 vertebrae, and traverses the disk between these levels. It is an extension of the aortic plexus below the aortic bifurcation, and contains almost exclusively sympathetic fibers and visceral afferents . Afferent pain fibers innervating pelvic organs travel with sympathetic nerves, trunks, ganglia, and rami; thus, interrupting the sympathetic chain at this level can be used to treat pelvic cancer pain. Several studies examined the use of superior hypogastric plexus block in the treatment of pelvic cancer pain. Although the authors reported a mean reduction in pain of 70%, neither the follow-up period nor the proportion with a successful prognostic block were noted. Radiofrequency utilizes a high-frequency alternating current that is passed from the needle electrode into the surrounding tissue, resulting in frictional heating and necrosis. Due to the accuracy of lesions produced by radiofrequency ablation, there has been growing interest in the use of this technique for neurolysis of nerves as it offers the potential of accurate nerve destruction ablation, with a predictable and controlled ablative lesion. Another advantage of radiofrequency ablation is that it has an immediate effect unlike alcohol and phenol, which may take up to 1 week or 10 days to achieve neurolysis .

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 (Anticipated)

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.
40

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 Contact Backup

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

14 years to 66 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • sympathetically maintained pelvic, perineal pain
  • pain is no longer controlled with oral morphine sustained release tablets 30 mg
  • excessive sedation or other side effects from oral morphine sustained release tablets 30 mg or amitryptyline tablets 25 mg
  • age between 18-70 years

Exclusion Criteria:

  • patient refusal
  • patients with coagulopathies
  • allergy to constant dyes or phenol
  • patients receiving radiation or chemotherapy within 4 weeks of neurolytic block
  • patients with major or moderate cardiac/respiratory incapacitating diseases
  • liver and renal failure
  • patients younger than 18 years and older than 70 years

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: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

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: the study group one
20 patients with superior hypogastric plexus block
Procedure: superior hypogastric plexus block
nerve plexus block
Experimental: the study group two
20 patients with superior hypogastric plexus block combined to pulsed radiofrequency on sacral nerve roots 2,3 and 4
Procedure: superior hypogastric plexus block
nerve plexus block
Radiation: pulsed radiofrequency
pulsed radiofrequency on sacral nerve roots 2,3 and 4

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
Visual analogue score for pain
Time Frame: 2 months
Points on a scale
2 months

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.
Assiut University

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 (Anticipated)

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.
October 20, 2019

Primary Completion (Anticipated)

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.
June 20, 2020

Study Completion (Anticipated)

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.
December 20, 2020

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).
June 15, 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.
July 21, 2017

First Posted (Actual)

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.
July 24, 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.
July 2, 2019

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.
July 1, 2019

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.
July 1, 2019

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.
  • MEHG

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

No

Study Data/Documents

  1. Clinical Study Report

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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Conditions

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