Does Scar Massage Improve Postoperative Pain and Function in Women With Breast Cancer?

February 18, 2014 updated by: University of British Columbia

Does Scar Tissue Massage Improve Postoperative Pain and Function in Women With Breast Cancer? A Randomized Controlled Study.

All patients undergoing breast cancer surgery are left with scars which can significantly affect their physical and psychological well being. Patients with breast cancer, motivated to optimize healing and function, have inquired about the advisability of scar massage after surgery. Although this is a popular technique advocated by physiotherapists and massage therapists to improve pain, range of motion, and scar pliability, there is currently no scientific research to prove the benefits and/or risks of scar massage in breast cancer patients. We propose to study the effect of scar massage on pain, arm function, scar formation, and quality of life in patients with breast cancer. Patients who have had breast cancer surgery and who have been referred to the BC Cancer Agency, Vancouver Island Centre will be offered participation in this research study. To objectively evaluate the effects of scar massage, those who agree to participate will be randomly assigned to one of two groups. One group will be taught to perform self-massage of the scars as soon as the scars have adequately healed. The massage should be done about 10 minutes each day for a total of 6 months. The other group will not be taught self-massage and will be asked to not massage their breast scars. In both groups, we will monitor pain, upper body range of motion, scar characteristics and quality of life using standardized criteria for 2 years from the time of surgery. Problems with infections or blood or fluid accumulation at the scar areas will also be monitored. After 2 years, the information collected will be analyzed and compared to see if there are differences in pain, function or quality of life between the two groups. The results from this study will provide scientific proof of whether or not scar massage after surgery is beneficial for patients with breast cancer.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

This is a prospective randomized controlled trial design. Women who have undergone breast cancer surgery (breast conserving surgery or mastectomy) and who meet the eligibility criteria specified will be offered study participation. After obtaining informed consent, subjects will be randomized between two cohorts: scar massage (intervention group) versus no scar massage (control group). The primary outcome is scar-related pain (scored using the McGill Pain Questionnaire Short Form). The secondary outcomes are: upper body range of motion, physical parameters of the scar (pliability, scar height, vascularity and pigmentation scored using the Vancouver Scar Scale), lymphedema (evaluated by arm circumference measurements) and quality of life (using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy (FACT)-B breast cancer-specific instrument).

A sample size of 143 patients per arm was estimated to detect a 30% difference in the primary outcome of postoperative scar-related pain between the intervention and the control groups with 80% statistical power.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

96

Phase

  • Phase 3

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

  • Canada
    • British Columbia
      • Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, V8R 6V5
        • BC Cancer Agency - Vancouver Island

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

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (ADULT, OLDER_ADULT)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients must be able to provide informed consent and be physically able to perform daily self-administered breast scar massage
  • Female or male patients with histologically-confirmed invasive or in situ breast cancer
  • Definitive surgery with BCS or mastectomy +/- axillary dissection or sentinel node sampling
  • Adequate surgical healing as judged by treating oncologist during pre-enrolment assessment
  • Age 18 years or older with ability to provide written informed consent.
  • Ability to start massage within 8 weeks from surgery and comply with daily regimen if randomized to the intervention cohort
  • Ability to comply with not performing massage if randomized to the control cohort

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
  • Masking: NONE

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
EXPERIMENTAL: A
Arm A: Self-administered massage of the postoperative scar after breast cancer surgery.
Procedure: Scar massage.
To objectively evaluate the effects of scar massage, those who agree to participate will be randomly assigned to one of two groups. One group will be taught to perform self-massage of the scars as soon as the scars have adequately healed. The massage should be done about 10 minutes each day for a total of 6 months. The other group will not be taught self-massage and will be asked to not massage their breast scars.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
The primary outcome is scar-related pain (scored using the McGill Pain Questionnaire Short Form).
Time Frame: Two years
Two years

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
The secondary outcomes are: upper body range of motion, physical parameters of the scar (pliability, scar height, vascularity and pigmentation scored using the Vancouver Scar Scale), lymphedema (evaluated by arm circumference measurements) and quality of
Time Frame: Two years
Two years

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

University of British Columbia

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Pauline Truong, MD, University of British Columbia

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

February 1, 2004

Primary Completion (ACTUAL)

April 1, 2006

Study Completion (ACTUAL)

April 1, 2006

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 11, 2005

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 11, 2005

First Posted (ESTIMATE)

September 15, 2005

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (ESTIMATE)

February 19, 2014

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 18, 2014

Last Verified

February 1, 2014

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • H03-60011

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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