Preliminary Effectiveness and Feasibility of Transcutaneous Acupoints Electrical Stimulation on Chemotherapy-induced Peripheral Neuropathy Among Children With Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

December 21, 2025 updated by: Dr Eva Ho, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Preliminary Effectiveness and Feasibility of Transcutaneous Acupoints Electrical Stimulation on Chemotherapy-induced Peripheral Neuropathy Among Chinese Children With Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: A Randomized Controlled Trial

The first goal of this clinical trial is to assess the feasibility of transcutaneous acupoints electrical stimulation (TAES) on children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The second goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate the preliminary effectiveness of TAES on subject chemotherapy induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) symptoms severity, physical function, psychological distress, and quality of life at postintervention and at 1-, and 3-month follow-up postintervention.

The main questions it aims to answer are:

  1. What is the feasibility of implementing TAES for children with ALL, as measured by the eligibility rate, consent rate, randomization rate etc.?
  2. Does TAES can improve CIPN symptoms severity, physical function, psychological distress, quality of life in children with ALL compared with sham control group?

This proposed research is designed to conduct a two-arm RCT comparing TAES to sham TAES in children with ALL. Subjects in TAES group will receive 8 weeks TAES on four acupoints. Subjects in sham control group will follow the same protocol as the TEAS treatment but with 0 mA, 0 Hz TAES. These two groups will be provided with a leaflet containing self-help materials for CIPN.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet 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.

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 (Estimated)

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.
60

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

  • China
      • Zhengzhou, China
        • The Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Henan Cancer Hospital
        • Contact:

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

  • Child

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • age between 10 and 17 years old
  • diagnosed with ALL
  • received neurotoxic chemotherapy
  • have developed score 9 or above CIPN symptoms according to Pediatric Chemotherapy-Induced Neuropathy (P-CIN)
  • able to communicate and read Chinese

Exclusion Criteria:

  • receiving multiple cancer treatment
  • had a diagnosis of cancer in the central nervous system cancer, cancer relapse or secondary cancer
  • having other neuromuscular disorders, for example, traumatic brain injury and cerebral palsy
  • having other systematic diseases that cause toxicity in the peripheral nervous system, such as sickle cell disease (SCD), Guillain-Barre ́ Syndrome (GBS), anterior cutaneous nerve entrapment syndrome (ACNES), obstetric brachial plexus injury (OBPI), type I diabetes mellitus, postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), peroneal nerve injury, and reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD)
  • acupoints areas with injuries, wounds or allodynia
  • participated in any other CIPN non-pharmacological intervention programme
  • having any impaired bone marrow suppression
  • contraindications to TEAS : such as having a pacemaker, skin infection, damage, or allergy to the electrodes
  • suffering from mental illness or using antipsychotic drugs
  • parents and children refused to give consent.

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: 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: Transcutaneous Acupoints Electrical Stimulation (TAES) group
The intervention for TAES group will conduct 2 times per week, total 8 weeks with covering 16 sessions. The intervention will be delivered by a registered nurse with qualified TCM nurse certification. Four bilateral acupoints - Hegu, Shousanli , Zusanli, and Chongyang will be choosen. TAES will be deliveried by electronic acupunture treatment instrument with low frequency. Each session lasts for 60 minutes.
Behavioral: Transcutaneous Acupoints Electrical Stimulation (TAES)
Transcutaneous Acupoints Electrical Stimulation (TAES) is a kind of physical therapy that use electric current through the electrodes placed on the surface of acupoints to produce clinical effects in the human body.
Sham Comparator: Sham control group
We will adopt a sham control for participants in the sham control group with the same frequency, duration and procedures as the TAES in the experimental group. However, only electrodes will be attached on the four bilateral acupoints, but without any electrical stimulation.
Other: No intervention: sham TAES
It is designed to look, feel, and be administered identically to the active treatment but lacks its core therapeutic component.

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
Feasibility measure - Screening rate
Time Frame: Baseline
The number of participants being screened divided by the number of participants available for screening
Baseline
Feasibility measure - Eligibility rate
Time Frame: Baseline
The number of eligible participants divided by the number of screened participants.
Baseline
Feasibility measure - Recruitment rate
Time Frame: Baseline
The number of eligible participants who consent to join divided by the number of eligible participants
Baseline
Feasibility measure - Randomization rate
Time Frame: Baseline
The number of consented participants being randomized divided by the number of consented participants
Baseline
Feasibility measure - Attendance rate
Time Frame: immediately after intervention (T1)
The number of participants in the experimental group and control group who complete the intervention divided by the number of participants randomized into the group
immediately after intervention (T1)
Feasibility measure - Attrition rate
Time Frame: Baseline, immediately after intervention (T1), 1 month after intervention (T2), and 3 month after intervention (T3)
The number of participants who drop out divided by the number of participants randomized.
Baseline, immediately after intervention (T1), 1 month after intervention (T2), and 3 month after intervention (T3)
Feasilibility measure - Adverse events
Time Frame: During the study period including 8-week intervention and 3 months follow-up
It will be denoted as the number of adverse events reported by the participants during the study period.
During the study period including 8-week intervention and 3 months follow-up

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
CIPN severity - Pediatric Chemotherapy-Induced Neuropathy (P-CIN)
Time Frame: Baseline, immediately after intervention (T1), 1 month after intervention (T2), and 3 month after intervention (T3)
To evaluate the severity of CIPN. The Pediatric Chemotherapy-Induced Neuropathy scale contains 13 items, with eight items to rate CIPN symptoms in the hands and feet and five items to rate the difficulty of performing functional tasks. The total score ranges from 0 to 65 with higher scores indicating more severe CIPN.
Baseline, immediately after intervention (T1), 1 month after intervention (T2), and 3 month after intervention (T3)
Psychological distress
Time Frame: Baseline, immediately after intervention (T1), 1 month after intervention (T2), and 3 month after intervention (T3)
National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) distress thermometer will be used to evaluate the psychological distress of children with leukemia. It included two parts: one is a single-item DT screening tool using an 11-point visual scale for respondents to rate their level of subjective distress from 0 (no distress) to 10 (extreme distress). A cut off value ≥4 was recommended to indicate a distressed patient; another is a 40-items problem list to identify potential sources of distress including practical, family, emotional, physical, and spiritual distress.
Baseline, immediately after intervention (T1), 1 month after intervention (T2), and 3 month after intervention (T3)
Quality of life outcome
Time Frame: Baseline, immediately after intervention (T1), 1 month after intervention (T2), and 3 month after intervention (T3)
Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory version 3.0 cancer module (PedsQL 3.0 cancer module) will be used to evalute the quality of life for children with leukemia. The scale score was the average of the total item scores, with higher scores representing better quality of life.
Baseline, immediately after intervention (T1), 1 month after intervention (T2), and 3 month after intervention (T3)
Physical functioning - Timed Up and Go test
Time Frame: Baseline, immediately after intervention (T1), 1 month after intervention (T2), and 3 month after intervention (T3)
Timed Up and Go test (TUG) will be used to evaluate the physical function in children with ALL.
Baseline, immediately after intervention (T1), 1 month after intervention (T2), and 3 month after intervention (T3)
Physical functioning - 30-second sitting-rising test
Time Frame: Baseline, immediately after intervention (T1), 1 month after intervention (T2), and 3 month after intervention (T3)
30-second sitting-rising test will be used to evaluate the physical function in children with ALL.
Baseline, immediately after intervention (T1), 1 month after intervention (T2), and 3 month after intervention (T3)
Physical functioning - grip strength
Time Frame: Baseline, immediately after intervention (T1), 1 month after intervention (T2), and 3 month after intervention (T3)
Handheld grip strength meter will be used to evaluate the physical function in children with ALL.
Baseline, immediately after intervention (T1), 1 month after intervention (T2), and 3 month after intervention (T3)

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.
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

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.
The Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Zhengzhou University & Henan Cancer Hospital

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 (Estimated)

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.
February 1, 2026

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.
January 31, 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.
January 31, 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).
December 21, 2025

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.
December 21, 2025

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.
January 6, 2026

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.
January 6, 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.
December 21, 2025

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.
December 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

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.
  • Electrical stimulation

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

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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