Clinical trial · Interventional
Acupressure for the Reduction of Anxiety in Patients Receiving Cancer-Directed Therapy
Acupressure for Anxiety: A Randomized Controlled Trial of an Acupressure Intervention for Patients Receiving Cancer-Directed Therapy
- 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)
This clinicaI trial is being done to determine if acupressure is helpful to reduce anxiety related to chemotherapy, compared with "sham" (or placebo) acupressure in patients with cancer. Anxiety, experienced by many patients with cancer, can be related to chemotherapy and may contribute to other symptoms, such as nausea and poor quality of life. Some patients diagnosed with cancer express interest in non-medicine ways to manage symptoms. Acupressure is the application of non-invasive finger pressure along energy points throughout the body in order to relieve pain and induce a feeling of well-being. Previous research has shown that acupressure can help both adults and children with their anxiety in certain situations, such as after surgery. Patients can be taught how to do the acupressure on themselves, making this an intervention that can be done anywhere. Acupressure is well tolerated with minimal reports of adverse reactions. Undergoing acupressure may be effective in reducing anxiety in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy.
Conditions
Conditions (2)
Free-text conditions as registered, with the CancerIndex entity they were reconciled to and the match type.
| Condition (as posted) | Mapped entity | Match | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hematopoietic and Lymphatic System Neoplasm | Hematopoietic and Lymphatic System Neoplasm | ONTOLOGY_EXACT | 0.98 |
| Malignant Solid Neoplasm | Malignant Solid Neoplasm | ONTOLOGY_EXACT | 0.98 |
Interventions
Interventions (5)
| Intervention | Type | Mapped drug | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acupressure Therapy | Procedure | — | UNRESOLVED |
| Acupressure Therapy - placebo | Procedure | — | UNRESOLVED |
| Acupressure Therapy - self-administered | Procedure | — | UNRESOLVED |
| Health Promotion and Education | Other | — | UNRESOLVED |
| Survey Administration | Other | — | UNRESOLVED |
Design
Arms and outcomes
Arms (2)
- type
- EXPERIMENTAL
- label
- Arm I (true acupressure)
- description
- Patients undergo true acupressure over 10 minutes on study. Patients that choose to learn self-administration acupressure at home receive educational information and undergo self-administration acupressure sessions at least BID for seven days.
- interventionNames
- Procedure: Acupressure Therapy
- Procedure: Acupressure Therapy - self-administered
- Other: Health Promotion and Education
- Other: Survey Administration
- type
- SHAM_COMPARATOR
- label
- Arm II (sham acupressure)
- description
- Patients undergo sham acupressure over 10 minutes on study. Patients that choose to learn self-administration acupressure at home receive educational information and undergo self-administration acupressure sessions at least BID for seven days.
- interventionNames
- Procedure: Acupressure Therapy - placebo
- Procedure: Acupressure Therapy - self-administered
Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
- Sex
- All
- Minimum age
- 18 Years
Show eligibility criteria text
Inclusion Criteria: * NURSE-LED INTERVENTION: Age \>= 18 years and be diagnosed with cancer * NURSE-LED INTERVENTION: Undergoing systemic, antineoplastic therapy * NURSE-LED INTERVENTION: Ability to provide oral consent * NURSE-LED INTERVENTION: Willingness to undergo a nurse-led acupressure intervention * NURSE-LED INTERVENTION: Willingness and ability to complete pre- and post-intervention questionnaires in English * NURSE-LED INTERVENTION: Report acute anxiety as a 5 or higher on a scale for 0 (no anxiety) to 10 (severe anxiety) * SELF-ADMINISTRATION INTERVENTION: Age \>= 18 years and be diagnosed with cancer * SELF-ADMINISTRATION INTERVENTION: Undergoing systemic, antineoplastic therapy * SELF-ADMINISTRATION INTERVENTION: Ability to provide oral consent * SELF-ADMINISTRATION INTERVENTION: Willingness to undergo a nurse-led acupressure intervention * SELF-ADMINISTRATION INTERVENTION: Willingness and ability to complete pre- and post-intervention questionnaires in English * SELF-ADMINISTRATION INTERVENTION: Report acute anxiety as a 5 or higher on a scale for 0 (no anxiety) to 10 (severe anxiety) * SELF-ADMINISTRATION INTERVENTION: Reports 2+/day anxiety episodes at home * SELF-ADMINISTRATION INTERVENTION: Interested in learning self-administered acupressure Exclusion Criteria: * Prior experiences with acupressure, or training in acupressure points
References
Publications (0)
Data not yet available