Clinical trial · Interventional
Self-administered Acupressure to Improve Cancer-related Fatigue Among Cancer Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy
Effects of Self-administered Acupressure Versus Aerobic Exercise for Treating Cancer-related Fatigue in Cancer Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy: A Randomized Controlled Equivalence Trial
- 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)
The primary aim of the study is to determine whether self-administered acupressure has effects equivalent to aerobic exercise on CRF in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Secondary outcomes include sleep disturbance (self-reported and objective), activity levels (self-reported and objective), quality of life (QoL), cognitive impairment, return to work, chemotherapy completion, and adherence to the intervention. This will be a prospective, assessor-blind, parallel group randomized controlled trial (RCT) that will strictly follow the CONSORT guidelines. A total of 138 patients aged 18 or above with a diagnosis of breast cancer scheduled to commence their first cycle of outpatient adjuvant chemotherapy will be recruited and randomized into self-administered acupressure and aerobic exercise groups. The hypothesis of this study is self-administered acupressure and aerobic exercise demonstrate equivalent effects on CRF. The acupressure arm comprises of a one-on-one, 90-min instructional session and a 1-hour follow-up visit by a trained Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioner, and self-practice for 12 weeks. The exercise arm consists of a one-on-one, 90-min instructional session and a 1-hour follow-up visit by a trained exercise specialist, and self-practice for 12 weeks. Participants will be instructed to maintain self-practice after the intervention. Intention-to-treat analysis will be performed.
Conditions
Conditions (4)
Free-text conditions as registered, with the CancerIndex entity they were reconciled to and the match type.
| Condition (as posted) | Mapped entity | Match | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acupressure | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
| Cancer, Breast | Malignant Breast Neoplasm | CURATED_EXACT | 0.92 |
| Exercise | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
| Fatigue | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
Interventions
Interventions (2)
| Intervention | Type | Mapped drug | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aerobic exercise | Behavioral | — | UNRESOLVED |
| Self-administered acupressure | Behavioral | — | UNRESOLVED |
Design
Arms and outcomes
Arms (2)
- type
- EXPERIMENTAL
- label
- Self-administered acupressure
- description
- The entire intervention will last 12 weeks, including a one-on-one, 90-min instructional session at week 1 and a one-hour follow-up visit at week 2, which are conducted by a trained traditional Chinese medicine practitioner. Participants will be instructed to perform self-acupressure on the acupoints according to individualized protocol once a day. Participants will be instructed to maintain self-practice after the intervention.
- interventionNames
- Behavioral: Self-administered acupressure
- type
- ACTIVE_COMPARATOR
- label
- Aerobic exercise
- description
- The 12-week aerobic exercise program consists of a one-on-one, 90-min instructional session at week 1 and a one-hour follow-up visit at week 2, which are conducted by a trained exercise specialist. Participants will be advised to perform aerobic exercise of moderate intensity 3 times per week for 30 minutes each time. Accumulating 90 min of exercise per week through more frequent short bouts (e.g. 10-20 min daily) are allowed during the first week of each chemotherapy cycle due to increased symptom burden. Participants will be instructed to maintain self-practice after the intervention.
- interventionNames
Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
- Sex
- All
- Minimum age
- 18 Years
Show eligibility criteria text
Inclusion Criteria: 1. aged 18 or above 2. with a diagnosis of breast cancer 3. scheduled to commence their first cycle of outpatient adjuvant chemotherapy 4. have an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0 or 1 5. screened as no contraindications for exercise based on a pre-exercise safety assessment (including aspects of blood results, cardiorespiratory signs and symptoms, metastasis, and variations in cognitive functions) 6. written informed consent Exclusion Criteria: 1. have received/self-administered acupressure or acupuncture in the previous 3 months 2. have engaged in \>90 min of moderate intensity aerobic exercise per week in the previous 3 months 3. are pregnant or lactating 4. have any injury or ulcers around the acupoints 5. unable to communicate in Cantonese, Mandarin, or English
References
Publications (0)
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