An Acupuncture Study for Cancer Survivors With Joint Pain

Researching the Implementation of Acupuncture for Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain in Diverse Underserved Cancer Survivors (ReIMAGINE)

The purpose of this study is to see whether acupuncture is a practical (feasible) treatment for cancer survivors with joint pain.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Cancer Survivor
• Intervention / Treatment: Procedure: Acupuncture

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 60
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Kevin Liou, MD; Phone Number: 646-608-8563; Email: liouk@mskcc.org
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Pamela Drullinsky, MD; Email: drullinp@MSKCC.ORG

Study Locations

• United States
  • New York
    • New York, New York, United States, 10065
      • Recruiting
      • Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (All Protocol Activites)
      • Contact: Kevin Liou, MD; Phone Number: 646-608-8563
    • Richmond Hill, New York, United States, 11418
      • Recruiting
      • Jamaica Hospital Medical Center
      • Contact: Rosa Nouvini, MD; Phone Number: (718) 206-6000

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• English- or Spanish-speaking adults
• Non white or Hispanic women with a prior cancer diagnosis
• Stable oncological disease or no evidence oncological of disease per clinical documentation or clinician assessment
• Worst pain rated ≥4 on a 0-10 scale in the preceding week
• ≥15 days with pain in the past 30 days
• Pain lasting ≥1 month
• Willing and able to complete questionnaires and other study activities
• Willing and able to provide informed consent for the trial

Exclusion Criteria:

• Completed active treatment (chemotherapy, surgery, radiation, transplantation) <4 weeks prior to study
• Maintenance therapies are allowed
• Pain attributed to inflammatory arthritis (e.g., rheumatoid arthritis, gout)
• Other non-musculoskeletal pain syndromes (eg, headache, visceral abdominal pain, neuropathic pain) can be present as comorbid conditions if the patient reports musculoskeletal pain as the primary source of pain
• Procedures involving affected joints within the last month or planned in the next 14 weeks
• Acupuncture use for pain in the past three months
• Implanted electronic device (e.g., pacemaker)

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Non-Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Acupuncture; Participants will receive 10 weekly acupuncture treatments over 10 weeks.	Procedure: Acupuncture; Acupuncture is a non-pharmacological intervention that does not involve the use of any therapeutic agents or devices. Participants will receive 10 weekly treatments over 10 weeks.
No Intervention: Usual Care; Participants will receive standard medical care, including pain medications and other treatments

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Study feasibility as measured by rates of enrollment	The primary purpose of this study is to determine the feasibility of studying an acupuncture intervention for chronic musculoskeletal pain in racially/ethnically diverse, community-based cancer survivors.	1 year

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Kevin Liou, MD, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Publications and helpful links

Helpful Links

• Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): January 31, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): June 30, 2028
• Study Completion (Estimated): June 30, 2028

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 3, 2025
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 3, 2025
• First Posted (Actual): February 7, 2025

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): October 10, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 9, 2025
• Last Verified: October 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: cancer; acupuncture; history of cancer; 24-305
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Neoplasms by Site; Neoplasms; Skin Diseases; Breast Diseases; Neoplasms; Therapeutics; Complementary Therapies; Acupuncture Therapy
• Other Study ID Numbers: 24-305

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center supports the international committee of medical journal editors (ICMJE) and the ethical obligation of responsible sharing of data from clinical trials. The protocol summary, a statistical summary, and informed consent form will be made available on clinicaltrials.gov when required as a condition of Federal awards, other agreements supporting the research and/or as otherwise required. Requests for deidentified individual participant data can be made beginning 12 months after publication and for up to 36 months post publication. Deidentified individual participant data reported in the manuscript will be shared under the terms of a Data Use Agreement and may only be used for approved proposals. Requests may be made to: crdatashare@mskcc.org.

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