Different Types of Massage Therapy to Reduce Anxiety During Chemotherapy Infusion in Patients With Cancer

Assessing the Feasibility of Different Types of Massage to Reduce Anxiety During Chemotherapy Infusion

This clinical trial tests how well different types of massage therapy works to reduce anxiety during chemotherapy infusions in patients with cancer. Many cancer patients experience moderate to severe anxiety and anxiety can worsen by the anticipation of medical procedures that patients have to receive, particularly chemotherapy. Massage therapy, as a complementary treatment, has shown promise in lessening both physical and psychological symptoms associated with cancer and its treatments. Research has also shown the benefits of massage therapy in reducing pain, stress, anxiety, nausea (upset stomach), fatigue (tiredness), and depression in cancer patients. Different types of massage therapy may potentially reduce some cancer patients' symptoms, enhance their treatment, and reduce treatment related side effects.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Malignant Solid Neoplasm; Hematopoietic and Lymphatic System Neoplasm
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Questionnaire Administration; Procedure: Biospecimen Collection; Other: Best Practice; Procedure: Massage Therapy; Procedure: Massage Therapy; Procedure: Massage Therapy; Procedure: Massage Therapy

Detailed Description

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:

I. To assess the feasibility of 30-minute massages targeting various body regions among patients with cancer receiving anticancer therapy infusion.

II. Assess which type of massage is preferred by patients with cancer receiving anticancer therapy infusion.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVE:

I. To assess the change in anxiety levels after each type of massage therapy during infusion.

EXPLORATORY OBJECTIVE:

I. To evaluate changes in other symptoms, such as: pain, fatigue, nausea, depression, and overall well-being, using data obtained from the Edmonton Symptoms Assessment scale (ESAS) after each type of massage therapy.

OUTLINE:

Patients receive massage therapy according to a randomized schedule to the feet/legs (FL), head/neck/shoulder (HNS), hands/arms (HA), combination of all three groups (FL, HNS, HA) or no massage therapy over 30 minutes for 5 chemotherapy sessions total on study. Patients also undergo saliva sample collection on study.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 50
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • California
    • Irvine, California, United States, 92618
      • Recruiting
      • City of Hope at Irvine Lennar
      • Contact: Richard T. Lee; Phone Number: 949-671-4091; Email: RichLee@coh.org
      • Principal Investigator: Richard T. Lee

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

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

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Participant must be 18 years of age or older at time of consent
• The study is open to all participants regardless of gender, race, or ethnicity
• Participants should have had at least 1 cycle of the chemotherapy regimen at the time of recruitment
• Participant must have a baseline anxiety score > 3 on the Visual Analog scale (VAS)
• Scheduled for at least six more infusion sessions
• Participant has had complete blood count (CBC) lab work completed in the past 24 hours

Exclusion Criteria:

• Platelet count less than 20,000. Patients taking anticoagulants are not excluded, as the protocol for massage in infusion ensures that deep pressure massage is never performed, and patient's massage will not exceed a 3 on the Walton scale
• Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) less than 500
• Patient has received radiation therapy to any of the targeted areas within the past 90 days
• Any patient that is currently using a cold therapy device that would interfere with their ability to have a massage without removing the device (cold gloves, cold socks)
• Had surgery on their foot, leg, head, neck, shoulder, hands, or arms within the past three months
• Participant has rashes, open wounds, or any skin conditions that could be exacerbated by massage
• Known allergies to creams, lotions, or any other substances that may be used during the massage therapy sessions
• Ongoing uncontrolled active psychiatric condition that would interfere in the conduct of the study (e.g., mood disorders, anxiety, psychosis disorders, or substance use), as determined by the patient's primary cancer team
• Participants with a known allergy to Bioton dual-purpose massage cream or any of its ingredients will be excluded from the study
• In order to minimize undue influence and coercion, the study team will not personally solicit an employee for participation: An employee who is under the direct/indirect supervision of the principal investigator (PI)/a co-investigator/the study manager and a direct study team member
• Pregnancy
• Any participants with bone metastasis

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 (FL, HNS, HA, combination, no massage); Patients receive massage therapy according to a randomized schedule to the FL, HNS, hands/arms (HA), combination of all three groups (FL, HNS, HA) or no massage therapy over 30 minutes over 5 chemotherapy sessions total on study. Patients also undergo saliva sample collection on study.

Other: Questionnaire Administration; Ancillary studies; Procedure: Biospecimen Collection; Undergo saliva sample collection; Other Names: Biological Sample Collection; Biospecimen Collected; Specimen Collection; Other: Best Practice; Receive no massage therapy; Other Names: standard of care; standard therapy; Procedure: Massage Therapy; Receive FL therapy; Other Names: Massage; Procedure: Massage Therapy; Receive HNS therapy; Other Names: Massage; Procedure: Massage Therapy; Receive HA therapy; Other Names: Massage; Procedure: Massage Therapy; Receive combination FL, HNS, and HA therapy; Other Names: Massage

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Participation rate	Will consider the study feasible if >=70% of patients are able to complete the massage intervention at each session. Descriptive summary will be provided (including 95% confidence intervals [CI]).	Up to 1 year
Completion rate	Descriptive summary will be provided (including 95% CI).	Up to 1 year

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in anxiety levels (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory)	Will be assessed by the items from the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Will use paired t-tests to assess the impact of each massage intervention, by comparing changes in outcome measures from pre to post intervention within each session. Second, will apply mixed effect models to evaluate the main effects of interventions and time points (and their interaction) on the changes in outcome measures, while accounting for the individual differences, session variability, as well as missing data. These analyses will provide estimates and effect sizes to help inform the design of future studies. They are intended to detect a signal rather than test a formal hypothesis.	Up to 1 year
Change in anxiety levels (Edmonton Symptom Assessment System)	Will be assessed by the items from the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System. Will use paired t-tests to assess the impact of each massage intervention, by comparing changes in outcome measures from pre to post intervention within each session. Second, will apply mixed effect models to evaluate the main effects of interventions and time points (and their interaction) on the changes in outcome measures, while accounting for the individual differences, session variability, as well as missing data. These analyses will provide estimates and effect sizes to help inform the design of future studies. They are intended to detect a signal rather than test a formal hypothesis.	Up to 1 year
Change in anxiety levels salivary amylase)	Will be assessed by the items from the salivary amylase. Will use paired t-tests to assess the impact of each massage intervention, by comparing changes in outcome measures from pre to post intervention within each session. Second, will apply mixed effect models to evaluate the main effects of interventions and time points (and their interaction) on the changes in outcome measures, while accounting for the individual differences, session variability, as well as missing data. These analyses will provide estimates and effect sizes to help inform the design of future studies. They are intended to detect a signal rather than test a formal hypothesis.	Up to 1 year

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: City of Hope Medical Center
• Collaborators: National Cancer Institute (NCI)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Richard T Lee, City of Hope Medical Center

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): August 28, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): November 28, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): November 28, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: September 12, 2025
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 14, 2025
• First Posted (Estimated): September 19, 2025

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): September 19, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 14, 2025
• Last Verified: September 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Health Services Administration; Health Care Quality, Access, and Evaluation; Investigative Techniques; Therapeutics; Clinical Laboratory Techniques; Diagnostic Techniques and Procedures; Diagnosis; Quality of Health Care; Complementary Therapies; Physical Therapy Modalities; Quality Indicators, Health Care; Rehabilitation; Guidelines as Topic; Quality Assurance, Health Care; Therapy, Soft Tissue; Musculoskeletal Manipulations; Standard of Care; Specimen Handling; Practice Guidelines as Topic; Massage
• Other Study ID Numbers: 24302 (Other Identifier: City of Hope Medical Center); P30CA033572 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract); NCI-2025-06187 (Registry Identifier: CTRP (Clinical Trial Reporting Program))

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