Clinical trial · Interventional
Acupuncture in Treating Women With Stage I, Stage II, or Stage III Breast Cancer With Aromatase Inhibitor-Related Joint Pain
Acupuncture and Aromatase Inhibitor Related Arthralgia
NCT01013337CI-TRIAL-00044545completedN/AClinicalTrials.gov clinicaltrialsProvenance
- Source
- ClinicalTrials.gov
- Retrieved
- Sep 8, 2026
- Layer
- normalized (units and labels harmonized; values unchanged)
- Run
- ING-CLINICALTRIALS-20260908-000001
Summary
Brief summary (as posted)
RATIONALE: Acupuncture may help relieve moderate or severe joint pain caused by aromatase inhibitors. PURPOSE: This randomized phase II trial is studying acupuncture in treating women with stage I, stage II, or stage III breast cancer with aromatase inhibitor-related joint pain.
Conditions
Conditions (7)
Free-text conditions as registered, with the CancerIndex entity they were reconciled to and the match type.
| Condition (as posted) | Mapped entity | Match | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Breast Cancer | Malignant Breast Neoplasm | CURATED_EXACT | 0.92 |
| Recurrent Breast Cancer | Malignant Breast Neoplasm | CURATED_BROADER | 0.78 |
| Stage I Breast Cancer | Malignant Breast Neoplasm | CURATED_BROADER | 0.78 |
| Stage II Breast Cancer | Malignant Breast Neoplasm | CURATED_BROADER | 0.78 |
| Stage IIIA Breast Cancer | Malignant Breast Neoplasm | CURATED_BROADER | 0.78 |
| Stage IIIB Breast Cancer | Malignant Breast Neoplasm | CURATED_BROADER | 0.78 |
| Stage IIIC Breast Cancer | Malignant Breast Neoplasm | CURATED_BROADER | 0.78 |
Interventions
Interventions (2)
| Intervention | Type | Mapped drug | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| acupuncture therapy | Procedure | — | UNRESOLVED |
| sham intervention | Procedure | — | UNRESOLVED |
Design
Arms and outcomes
Arms (3)
- type
- EXPERIMENTAL
- label
- Arm I (Acupuncture)
- description
- Patients undergo 10, 20-minute sessions of acupuncture over 8 weeks (twice weekly for 2 weeks and 6 weekly treatments).
- interventionNames
- Procedure: acupuncture therapy
- type
- SHAM_COMPARATOR
- label
- Arm II (Placebo)
- description
- Patients undergo 10, 20-minute sessions of sham acupuncture treatments over 8 weeks (twice weekly for 2 weeks and 6 weekly treatments) via Streitberger needles at non-acupuncture points.
- interventionNames
- Procedure: sham intervention
- type
- NO_INTERVENTION
- label
- Arm III (Control)
Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
- Sex
- Female
- Minimum age
- 18 Years
Show eligibility criteria text
Inclusion * History of stage I, II, or III breast cancer * Visit with oncologist within the previous 3-month period and free of disease by clinical examination and history * Currently receiving aromatase inhibitors (Anastrozole, Letrozole, or Exemestane) as per chart abstraction * Postmenopausal, as defined by cessation of menses for a least 1 year or FSH \> 40 mlU/mL * Can understand written English * Having worst joint pain rated at least 4 or greater on an 11-point (0-10) numerical rating scale in the preceding week * Having had at least 15 days with pain in the preceding 30 days * Having had joint pain for at least 3 months * Joint pain attributed to the use of aromatase inhibitors * Willingness to adhere to all study-related procedures including randomization to one of the three possible choices: real acupuncture, placebo acupuncture, and wait-list control Exclusion * Women with metastatic (stage IV) breast cancer * Women having finished chemotherapy or radiation therapy less than 4 weeks prior to enrollment * History of bleeding disorder * Joint pain attributed to inflammatory arthritis (such as rheumatoid arthritis, gout, pseudo gout) * Having severe pain or non-inflammatory arthralgia prior to AI initiation per patient's history * Surgery or joint injection involving the treatment joint within the last 3 months * Have previously participated in the acupuncture trial for hot flashes in the last year
References
Publications (2)
- DERIVEDBao T, Li SQ, Dearing JL, Piulson LA, Seluzicki CM, Sidlow R, Mao JJ. Acupuncture versus medication for pain management: a cross-sectional study of breast cancer survivors. Acupunct Med. 2018 Apr;36(2):80-87. doi: 10.1136/acupmed-2017-011435. Epub 2018 Feb 10. PMID 29440043
- DERIVEDMao JJ, Xie SX, Farrar JT, Stricker CT, Bowman MA, Bruner D, DeMichele A. A randomised trial of electro-acupuncture for arthralgia related to aromatase inhibitor use. Eur J Cancer. 2014 Jan;50(2):267-76. doi: 10.1016/j.ejca.2013.09.022. Epub 2013 Oct 24. PMID 24210070