Acupressure for Reducing Anxiety in Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy

Acupressure for Anxiety: A Pilot Study of a Nurse-Led Acupressure Intervention for Patients Receiving Chemotherapy

This clinical trial evaluates whether acupressure is helpful to reduce anxiety related to chemotherapy. Anxiety is experienced by many patients with cancer. Anxiety can be related to chemotherapy and may contribute to other symptoms, such as nausea and poor quality of life. Some patients diagnosed with cancer express interest in non-medicinal ways to manage symptoms. Acupressure is a noninvasive intervention that can be used for many different symptoms. Acupressure is well tolerated with minimal reports of adverse reactions, making it a good choice for patients with cancer. This study may help researchers learn whether acupressure is useful for managing anxiety in patients undergoing chemotherapy.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Malignant Solid Neoplasm; Hematopoietic and Lymphatic System Neoplasm
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Questionnaire Administration; Other: Electronic Health Record Review; Procedure: Acupressure Therapy; Other: Educational Intervention

Detailed Description

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:

I. Evaluate the feasibility of a nurse- and patient-applied acupressure intervention for patients with anxiety associated with active cancer-directed therapy.

II. Patient-reported changes in acute anxiety associated with both the nurse and self-led acupressure interventions will be ascertained.

OUTLINE:

Patients undergo acupressure over 15-120 seconds at a time for up to 15 minutes. After completion of the session, patients may optionally receive an education session on using acupressure at home.

After completion of study intervention, patients who opted to receive education about using acupressure at home are followed up at 1 week.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 30
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Minnesota
    • Rochester, Minnesota, United States, 55905
      • Mayo Clinic in Rochester

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Be over 18 years of age
• Be actively undergoing chemotherapy in the Mayo Clinic chemotherapy unit
• Report anxiety as a 1 or higher, on a scale from 0 (no anxiety) to 4 (severe anxiety)
• Be willing to undergo a short acupressure session

Exclusion Criteria:

• Does not meet the inclusion criteria

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Intervention / Treatment

Experimental: Supportive Care (acupressure); Patients undergo acupressure over 15-120 seconds at a time for up to 15 minutes. After completion of the session, patients may optionally receive an education session on using acupressure at home.

Other: Questionnaire Administration; Ancillary studies; Other: Electronic Health Record Review; Ancillary studies; Procedure: Acupressure Therapy; Undergo acupressure; Other Names: Acupressure; Ischemic Compression; Other: Educational Intervention; Receive education session about using acupressure at home; Other Names: Education for Intervention; Intervention by Education; Intervention through Education; Intervention, Educational

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Number of patients approached about undergoing acupressure intervention (Feasibility)	Assessed by the number of patients approached about undergoing acupressure intervention.	Up to 1 year
Number of patients interested in the initial acupressure intervention in the chemotherapy unit (Feasibility)	Assessed by the number of patients who express interest in the initial acupressure intervention in the chemotherapy unit.	Up to 1 year
Number of patients interested in the home acupressure intervention (Feasibility)	Assessed by the number of patients who express interest in the home acupressure intervention.	Up to 1 year
Time taken for each nurse-led acupressure intervention in the chemotherapy unit (Feasibility)	Assess by the time recorded for ach nurse-led acupressure intervention in the chemotherapy unit.	Up to 1 year
Patient-reported changes in acute anxiety	Assessed with a brief anxiety questionnaire that inquires about the three different domains of anxiety: cognitive symptoms, emotional symptoms, and physical symptoms. Seven questions are answered using 11-point (0-10) scales with different values assigned to the scale per question (e.g. 0=no anxiety/10=worst possible anxiety or 0=strongly disagree/10=strongly agree).	At baseline, after a one-time nurse-administered acupressure session, and after one week of self-administered acupressure sessions

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Mayo Clinic
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Laura S. Rhee, D.O., Mayo Clinic in Rochester

Publications and helpful links

Helpful Links

• Mayo Clinic Clinical Trials

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): August 8, 2023
• Primary Completion (Actual): January 29, 2024
• Study Completion (Actual): February 1, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 14, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 14, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): March 21, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): October 29, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 27, 2025
• Last Verified: October 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Neoplasms; Investigative Techniques; Therapeutics; Complementary Therapies; Physical Therapy Modalities; Health Services; Health Care Facilities Workforce and Services; Child Health Services; Community Health Services; Preventive Health Services; Socioeconomic Factors; Population Characteristics; Rehabilitation; Therapy, Soft Tissue; Musculoskeletal Manipulations; Methods; Early Intervention, Educational; Educational Status; Acupressure
• Other Study ID Numbers: MC221001 (Other Identifier: Mayo Clinic in Rochester); NCI-2024-00538 (Registry Identifier: CTRP (Clinical Trial Reporting Program)); 23-004067 (Other Identifier: Mayo Clinic Institutional Review Board)

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