Traditional Chinese Medicine Hand-Foot Soak for Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy and Hand-Foot Syndrome

January 21, 2026 updated by: Peking University Third Hospital

Efficacy and Safety of a Traditional Chinese Medicine Hand-Foot Soak for Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy and Hand-Foot Syndrome

Systemic therapies, including chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy, are cornerstones of modern oncology and have significantly extended patient survival. However, these treatments are frequently associated with adverse reactions that can impair patients' quality of life. Among the most common and debilitating are chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) and hand-foot syndrome (HFS).

Currently, no universally effective standard of care exists for either CIPN or HFS. Interventions such as duloxetine for CIPN or empirical vitamin use for HFS offer limited efficacy and are not robustly supported by evidence. This unmet clinical need has driven interest in complementary approaches. In recent years, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been rigorously evaluated in high-quality clinical trials for various conditions, showing benefits in cardiovascular disease and oncology. However, while some studies have explored systemic TCM for preventing CIPN, research on topical TCM therapies for established CIPN and HFS is scarce. We therefore conducted this retrospective study to investigate the efficacy and safety of a topical TCM hand-foot soak for these conditions, using patient-reported outcome measures to assess its impact on symptoms and quality of life.

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.
Observational

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.
300

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.

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

This study will enroll patients with solid tumors who received systemic anticancer therapy at the Department of Medical Oncology and Radiation Sickness, Peking University Third Hospital.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • (1) The patient is over 18 years old, with no gender restrictions; (2) Pathology confirmed malignant tumor, including digestive tract tumor, lung cancer, breast cancer, etc; (3) Received systemic anti-tumor treatment, including chemotherapy, targeted therapy, etc; (4) Combination of HFS or CIPN after anti-tumor treatment; (5) After the occurrence of HFS or CIPN, according to the diagnosis and treatment routine or the patient's wishes, traditional Chinese medicine topical treatment is used, or western medicine such as methylcobalamin/vitamin B is taken orally, or no intervention measures are used; (6) The main organ functions are normal, and there are no severe abnormalities in blood, heart, lung, liver, kidney, bone marrow, or immunodeficiency diseases; (7) The time from the end of the previous use of traditional Chinese medicine and traditional Chinese patent medicines and simple preparations to the start of the study must be ≥ 2 weeks; (8) Those with good compliance can follow up on the efficacy and adverse reactions according to the requirements of the plan; (9) HFS, CIPN, and quality of life assessments were conducted before and after treatment.

Exclusion Criteria:

(1) Incomplete clinical data; (2) Before treatment, there were poor control of symptoms of diabetes peripheral neuropathy, history of nerve trauma, spinal cord compression syndrome without surgical treatment, spinal canal stenosis or spinal cord nerve root compression, central nervous system tumors; (3) Individuals with a known history of allergies to the components of this medication regimen; (4) Other situations that researchers believe are not suitable for inclusion.

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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

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Group / Cohort

A group or subgroup of participants in an observational study that is assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.
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.
Traditional Chinese medicine group

Patients received a topical TCM treatment. The formula consisted of: Ramulus Cinnamomi (Guizhi), Radix Angelicae Sinensis (Danggui) , Radix Aconiti Lateralis Preparata (Zhi Chuanwu) , Caulis Spatholobi (Jixueteng), Rhizoma Chuanxiong (Chuanxiong) , Radix Astragali (Huangqi), Rhizoma Dioscoreae Nipponicae (Chuanshanlong) , Herba Speranskiae Tuberculatae (Tougucao), Radix Paeoniae Rubra (Chishao), and Radix Sophorae Flavescentis (Kushen Pian).

The herbs were decocted in 1000-2000ml of 37-41℃ water. Patients were instructed to soak their hands and feet in the warm solution for 20-30 minutes twice daily.
Drug: Traditional Chinese Medicine
Ramulus Cinnamomi (Guizhi) , Radix Angelicae Sinensis (Danggui) , Radix Aconiti Lateralis Preparata (Zhi Chuanwu), Caulis Spatholobi (Jixueteng) , Rhizoma Chuanxiong (Chuanxiong) , Radix Astragali (Huangqi) , Rhizoma Dioscoreae Nipponicae (Chuanshanlong) , Herba Speranskiae Tuberculatae (Tougucao) , Radix Paeoniae Rubra (Chishao) , and Radix Sophorae Flavescentis (Kushen Pian)

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
Time Frame
CIPN scores
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks"
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks"

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
Time Frame
HFS Grade
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks"
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks"

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.
Peking University Third 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, 2029

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, 2029

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 21, 2026

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 21, 2026

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 29, 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 29, 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.
January 21, 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.
January 1, 2026

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.
  • M20250937

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

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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