Clinical trial · Interventional
Chinese Acupuncture for Chemobrain in Elderly Cancer Patients
The Role of Chinese Acupuncture for Chemotherapy Induced Cognitive Impairment in Elderly Cancer Patients
- 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)
Elderly cancer patients would suffer cognitive impairment due to chemotherapy, and a series of neurocognitive symptoms, known as "chemobrain". Chinese acupuncture plus herbal decoctions is an emerging therapeutic option for chemotherapy induced cognitive impairment in elderly cancer patients, despite limited supporting evidence. By evaluating this novel Chinese medicine mode in elderly cancer patients at our institution, the investigators aim to contribute to the existing knowledge in this area while establishing a basis for further research. The investigators will perform a study of all cases of "chemobrain" related elderly cancer patients treated with Chinese acupuncture from 2023 to 2025. The investigators would enroll 168 elderly cancer patients with clinically confirmed chemobrain; those for Chinese acupuncture will be treated with electroacupuncture (2 sessions per week over 8 weeks) ; the others will be received conventional drug therapy, or palliative-intent therapy. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) will be served as the primary outcome. Digit span test will be the secondary outcome for attentional function and working memory. The quality of life and multiple functional assessments will also be evaluated.
Conditions
Conditions (1)
Free-text conditions as registered, with the CancerIndex entity they were reconciled to and the match type.
| Condition (as posted) | Mapped entity | Match | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese Acupuncture | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
Interventions
Interventions (1)
| Intervention | Type | Mapped drug | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese acupuncture | Device | — | UNRESOLVED |
Design
Arms and outcomes
Arms (2)
- type
- EXPERIMENTAL
- label
- experimental group
- description
- Electroacupuncture intervention will take about 45 minutes every time. For experimental group, acupuncture points are mainly in the head, limbs and abdomen, and a total of six pairs of electric acupuncture for head. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) serves as the primary outcome. Digit span test will be the secondary outcome for attentional function and working memory. In addition, EORTCQLQ-C30 will be used to examine the quality of life of elderly cancer patients. Functional changes and side effects associated with therapies will be measured using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy (FACT). Most items of these functional assessments are 5-point Likert scale questions. Functional items which would be rated as "3" (quite a bit) or higher and incidences would be significantly different between the two groups in any assessment point will be extracted for statistical analysis.
- interventionNames
- Device: Chinese acupuncture
- type
- PLACEBO_COMPARATOR
- label
- control group
- description
- Electroacupuncture intervention will take about 45 minutes every time. For the control group, acupuncture points are mainly on the head and limbs, only a pair of electric needles for head. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) serves as the primary outcome. Digit span test will be the secondary outcome for attentional function and working memory. The quality of life and multiple functional assessments will also be evaluated.
Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
- Sex
- All
- Minimum age
- 60 Years
Show eligibility criteria text
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Elderly cancer patients \>60 years old; 2. Patients clinically confirmed with malignant tumor ; 3. Chemotherapy related cognitive impairment anticipated. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Chemotherapy received in the past two years; 2. Implanted pacemaker in the body and epilepsy or other unstable diseases. 3. Participated in drug research within the past six years; 4. Alcohol or drug abuse in the past years; 5. Fear of needles; 6. History of stroke or head trauma; 7. Have a history of mood disorders or mental illness.
References
Publications (1)
- DERIVEDZhao S, Zhang J, Wan H, Tao C, Hu M, Liang W, Xu Z, Xu B, Zhang J, Wang G, Li P, Lyu G, Gong Y. Role of Chinese Acupuncture in the Treatment for Chemotherapy-Induced Cognitive Impairment in Older Patients With Cancer: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Res Protoc. 2024 Feb 8;13:e53853. doi: 10.2196/53853. PMID 38329790