Clinical trial · Interventional
Electroacupuncture in Treating Chronic Dry Mouth Caused By Radiation Therapy in Patients With Head and Neck Cancer
Electroacupuncture for Xerostomia in Head and Neck Patients
- Source
- ClinicalTrials.gov
- Retrieved
- Sep 8, 2026
- Layer
- normalized (units and labels harmonized; values unchanged)
- Run
- ING-CLINICALTRIALS-20260908-000001
Why stopped (as posted): Slow accrual; did not meet accrual goal
Summary
Brief summary (as posted)
RATIONALE: Electroacupuncture may help relieve chronic dry mouth caused by radiation therapy. It is not yet known whether electroacupuncture is more effective than a placebo in treating chronic dry mouth caused by radiation therapy in patients with head and neck cancer. PURPOSE: This randomized clinical trial is studying electroacupuncture to see how well it works compared with a placebo in treating chronic dry mouth caused by radiation therapy in patients with head and neck cancer.
Conditions
Conditions (3)
Free-text conditions as registered, with the CancerIndex entity they were reconciled to and the match type.
| Condition (as posted) | Mapped entity | Match | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Head and Neck Cancer | Malignant Head and Neck Neoplasm | ALIAS | 0.90 |
| Radiation Toxicity | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
| Xerostomia | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
Interventions
Interventions (4)
| Intervention | Type | Mapped drug | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| electroacupuncture therapy | Procedure | — | UNRESOLVED |
| management of therapy complications | Procedure | — | UNRESOLVED |
| quality-of-life assessment | Procedure | — | UNRESOLVED |
| questionnaire administration | Other | — | UNRESOLVED |
Design
Arms and outcomes
Arms (0)
[]Primary outcomes (3)
- measure
- Salivary flow as measured by sialometry at baseline, on days 5 and 10 of treatment, and at 1, 3, and 6 months after completion of treatment
- measure
- Subjective sensation of mouth dryness as measured by quality of life questionnaires at baseline, on days 5 and 10 of treatment, and at 1, 3, and 6 months after completion of treatment
- measure
- Quality of life as measured by quality of life questionnaires at baseline, on days 5 and 10 of treatment, and at 1, 3, and 6 months after completion of treatment
Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
- Sex
- All
- Minimum age
- 21 Years
- Maximum age
- 89 Years
Show eligibility criteria text
DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS: * Diagnosis of primary head and neck cancer * Has undergone radiotherapy either as primary or adjuvant therapy ≥ 6 months ago * One or more parotid glands must have been in the prior radiotherapy field * Residual xerostomia after radiotherapy deemed to be significant by patient * Failed to respond to a trial of pilocarpine for relief of xerostomia PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS: * ECOG performance status 0-3 * Life expectancy ≥ 1 year (based on physician's judgment) * Able to attend the scheduled study treatments * Alert and mentally competent * Not pregnant * Willing to use contraception during study treatment, if of childbearing age * No history of Sjögren's disease * No cardiac pacemaker or any other electrical devices permanently implanted within the body (e.g., dorsal column stimulator) PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY: * See Disease Characteristics * More than 2 weeks since prior medication that may cause mouth dryness (e.g., antihistamines, narcotics, tricyclic antidepressants)
References
Publications (0)
Data not yet available