The Effect of Electroacupuncture on Nerve Pain Caused by Chemotherapy (Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy) (ACT)

January 28, 2026 updated by: Ting Bao, MD, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

A Randomized Phase III Clinical Trial of Acupuncture for Chemotherapy-induced Peripheral Neuropathy Treatment (ACT)

This study is a randomized controlled trial of electroacupuncture (referred to as EA) versus sham acupuncture (referred to as EA) as effective treatments for Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy (CIPN) pain in cancer survivors.

Study Overview

Status

Active, not recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

During the study, patients will be randomized to one of the two possible acupuncture treatment groups and receive 10 treatments over the course of 8 weeks and then enter a follow-up period. Acupuncture is a medical technique that involves insertion of very thin needles into specific areas on the body with the goal of promoting health and well-being. EA involves adding a very small amount of electricity through the acupuncture needles (electrical stimulation). Researchers have found that EA can increase the effects of regular acupuncture, and it is particularly helpful for treating different kinds of pain. The purpose of this study is to learn if EA can improve CIPN pain in cancer survivors, and if it is effective against other CIPN-related symptoms.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

255

Phase

  • 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 Locations

  • United States
    • Massachusetts
      • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02215
        • Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
    • New Jersey
      • Basking Ridge, New Jersey, United States, 07920
        • Memorial Sloan Kettering Basking Ridge (Limited Protocol Activities)
      • Middletown, New Jersey, United States, 07748
        • Memorial Sloan Kettering Monmouth (Limited Protocol Activities)
      • Montvale, New Jersey, United States, 07645
        • Memorial Sloan Kettering Bergen (Limited Protocol Activities)
    • New York
      • New York, New York, United States, 10021
        • Memorial Sloan - Kettering Cancer Center
      • Rockville Centre, New York, United States, 11553
        • Memorial Sloan Kettering Nassau (Limited Protocol Activities)

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

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • English-proficient men and women aged ≥18 years
  • Free of oncologic disease by clinical examination and history
  • Completed neurotoxic chemotherapy such as platinum agents, taxanes, vinca alkaloids, and bortezomib at least three months prior to enrollment
  • Diagnosis of CIPN based on symptom history, loss of deep tendon reflexes, or the presence of symmetrical stocking-glove pain, numbness, or paresthesia
  • Grade ≥1 sensory pain based on the NCI Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) version 5.0
  • Self-reported moderate to severe CIPN pain, as defined by a score of 4 or greater on the BPI-SF average pain item over the past week
  • On a stable regimen (no change in the past three months) if taking anti-neuropathy or other pain medications
  • Willing to adhere to requirement that no new pain medication be taken throughout the first 12 weeks of the study period
  • Willing to adhere to all study-related procedures, including randomization to one of the two possible acupuncture treatments

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients with a pacemaker or other electronically charged medical device
  • Use of acupuncture for symptom management within the past 12 months

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
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Electroacupuncture Arm
The study participants will include 250 cancer survivors who have completed neurotoxic agent containing chemotherapy at least three months prior and have persistent moderate to severe Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy/CIPN pain randomized to one of two study arms.
Other: Electroacupuncture
Real and sham acupuncture will be delivered by experienced licensed acupuncturists. The intervention includes 10 treatments of acupuncture over 8 weeks (i.e., twice per week for two weeks, then one treatment per week for six weeks).
Other Names:
  • EA
Placebo Comparator: Sham Acupuncture Arm
The study participants will include 250 cancer survivors who have completed neurotoxic agent containing chemotherapy at least three months prior and have persistent moderate to severe Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy/CIPN pain randomized to one of two study arms.
Other: Sham Acupuncture
Real and sham acupuncture will be delivered by experienced licensed acupuncturists. The intervention includes 10 treatments of acupuncture over 8 weeks (i.e., twice per week for two weeks, then one treatment per week for six weeks).

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Difference of pain severity from baseline to 4 weeks after baseline.
Time Frame: 4 weeks
The primary outcome will be the patient's rating of his/her average pain in the past 24 hours. All participants will fill out the Brief Pain Inventory-Short Form (BPI-SF)
4 weeks
Difference of pain severity from baseline to 8 weeks after baseline.
Time Frame: 8 weeks
The primary outcome will be the patient's rating of his/her average pain in the past 24 hours. All participants will fill out the Brief Pain Inventory-Short Form
8 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Collaborators

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Ting Bao, MD, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

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)

May 21, 2021

Primary Completion (Estimated)

April 24, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

April 24, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 2, 2021

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 2, 2021

First Posted (Actual)

June 8, 2021

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

January 30, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 28, 2026

Last Verified

January 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 23-510

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

The Dana-Farber / Harvard Cancer Center encourages and supports the responsible and ethical sharing of data from clinical trials. De-identified participant data from the final research dataset used in the published manuscript may only be shared under the terms of a Data Use Agreement. Requests may be directed to: Ting Bao, MD at ting_bao@dfci.harvard.edu. The protocol and statistical analysis plan will be made available on Clinicaltrials.gov only as required by federal regulation or as a condition of awards and agreements supporting the research.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

Data can be shared no earlier than 1 year following the date of publication

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

Contact the Belfer Office for Dana-Farber Innovations (BODFI) at innovation@dfci.harvard.edu

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • SAP

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

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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