The Effect of Acupuncture on Cancer-Related Cognitive Difficulties

NCT04837820 | Active Not Recruiting Phase 2

• 1 other identifier: 20-124
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 270
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 7

Brief Summary

The purpose of this study is to test whether acupuncture can improve cognitive difficulties and insomnia in survivors of breast cancer. Researchers will compare the effects of real acupuncture with those of placebo acupuncture and wait-list acupuncture. This study will also look at insomnia's link to cognitive difficulties. All study participants (receiving real acupuncture, placebo acupuncture, or wait-list acupuncture) will complete study questionnaires and/or have cognitive testing at Weeks 0, 4, 10, 14 and 26. After the Week 26 visit, your participation in this study will end. If you are assigned to receive placebo acupuncture or wait-list acupuncture, you will have the option of receiving up to 10 real acupuncture treatments within the six months after the study finishes.

Conditions

Breast Cancer

Keywords

Acupuncture; Cancer-Related Cognitive Difficulties; 20-124

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• cognitive difficulties

  measured by the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy - Cognitive Function (FACT-Cog) instrument. FACT-Cog is a 37-item questionnaire with 4 subscales: perceived cognitive difficulties, impact on quality of life, comments from others, and perceived cognitive abilities. The FACT-Cog perceived cognitive impairment subscale (Cronbach's α 0.94) will be the primary outcome for the study. A subscale score is calculated by summing the 18 items of the subscale. The subscale score ranges from 0 to 72.

  26 weeks

Study Arms (3)

Acupuncture

EXPERIMENTAL

The intervention will consist of 10 acupuncture sessions over 10 weeks using the standardized, semi-fixed protocol.

Procedure: Acupuncture; Other: Questionnaires

Sham Acupuncture (SA)

PLACEBO COMPARATOR

The intervention will consist of 10 acupuncture sessions over 10 weeks using the standardized, semi-fixed protocol.

Procedure: Sham Acupuncture; Other: Questionnaires

Wait-List Control

EXPERIMENTAL

During the 26-week waiting period, the CRC will contact patients in the WLC group at the same frequency as the acupuncture groups with respect to data collection. Patients in the WLC group will continue to receive their standard medical care as prescribed by their oncologists/primary care physicians. WLC patients will be compensated with real acupuncture treatments after Week 26 (end of study).

Other: Wait-List Control (WLC); Other: Questionnaires

Interventions

Acupuncture PROCEDURE

Each participant will receive 10 treatments of acupuncture (real or sham) over the course of 10 weeks (i.e. one treatment a week) with a +/- 14-day window.

Acupuncture

Sham Acupuncture PROCEDURE

Each participant will receive 10 treatments of acupuncture (real or sham) over the course of 10 weeks (i.e. one treatment a week) with a +/- 14-day window.

Sham Acupuncture (SA)

Wait-List Control (WLC) OTHER

Patients in the WLC group will continue to receive their standard medical care as prescribed by their oncologists/primary care physicians.

Wait-List Control

Questionnaires OTHER

Will follow patients for 26 weeks from baseline and collect assessments at baseline and Weeks 0, 10, and 26. Average time to complete the surveys is 30 minutes, which has been judged to be acceptable with minimal missing data; 20 minutes of these 30 minutes will be completed during the neurocognitive battery. Patients will complete PROs online using Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) or over the phone with the CRC. Biospecimens will be collected in person at assessment visits. The neurocognitive battery will be administered remotely.

Acupuncture; Sham Acupuncture (SA); Wait-List Control

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Gender Eligibility Details: Breast Cancer
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• English-proficient adult women with a history of stage 0, I, II, or III breast cancer
• Free of oncologic disease by clinical examination or history
• Moderate or greater CRCD as indicated by a score of "quite a bit" or "very much" on at least one of the two items that specifically assess concentration and memory on the EORTC QLQ-C30 (version 3.0)
• Report that cognitive functions worsened since cancer diagnosis by replying "Yes" to all 3 questions
• Do you think or feel that your memory or mental ability has gotten worse since your cancer diagnosis?
• Do you think your mind isn't as sharp now as it was before your cancer diagnosis?
• Do you feel like these problems have made it harder to function on your job or take care of things around the home?
• Presence of insomnia symptoms as indicated by a score ≥8 on the ISI134
• Willing to adhere to all study-related procedures, including randomization to one of the 3 possible choices: acupuncture, sham acupuncture, or wait-list control

You may not qualify if:

• Metastatic breast cancer (stage IV)
• Less than 1 month since completion of surgery, chemotherapy or radiation therapy
• Greater than 10 years since most recent breast cancer diagnosis
• Use of acupuncture for sleep or cognitive symptom management within the past 3 months
• Diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia, Parkinson disease, or other organic brain disorder
• Score of \>10 indicative of overt dementia on the Blessed Orientation-Memory-Concentration (BOMC)135
• Primary psychiatric disorder not in remission
• As per medical record or self-report, history of stroke or head injury requiring visit to the emergency room or hospitalization, with confirmed structural lesion on neuroimaging, persistent cognitive difficulties impacting work or daily life, or required cognitive rehabilitation.
• Pre-existing, uncorrectable visual or auditory impairment that would preclude ability to complete the assessments
• Initiation or change in hormonal or targeted therapy within the past 4 weeks
• Plans to initiate or change hormonal or targeted therapy in the coming 8 weeks
• Altered dose of somnogenic medication (e.g. hypnotics, sedatives, antidepressants) in past 8 weeks
• Enrolled or plans to enroll on another MSK neurocognitive study
• Unable to provide informed consent for himself/herself

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center: lead

Study Sites (7)

Memorial Sloan Kettering Basking Ridge (Limited Protocol activities)

Basking Ridge, New Jersey, 07920, United States

Location

Memorial Sloan Kettering Monmouth (Limited Protocol activities)

Middletown, New Jersey, 07748, United States

Location

Memorial Sloan Kettering Bergen (Limited Protocol Activities)

Montvale, New Jersey, 07645, United States

Location

Memorial Sloan Kettering Suffolk- Commack (Limited Protocol Activities)

Commack, New York, 11725, United States

Location

Memorial Sloan Kettering Westchester (Limited Protocol Activities)

Harrison, New York, 10604, United States

Location

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

New York, New York, 10065, United States

Location

Memorial Sloan Kettering Nassau (Limited Protocol Activities)

Uniondale, New York, 11553, United States

Location

Related Links

• Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Breast Neoplasms

Interventions

Acupuncture Therapy; Surveys and Questionnaires

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Neoplasms by Site; Neoplasms; Breast Diseases; Skin Diseases; Skin and Connective Tissue Diseases

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Complementary Therapies; Therapeutics; Data Collection; Epidemiologic Methods; Investigative Techniques; Health Care Evaluation Mechanisms; Quality of Health Care; Health Care Quality, Access, and Evaluation; Public Health; Environment and Public Health

Study Officials

• Jun Mao, MD, MSCE

  Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: phase 2
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: DOUBLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Model Details: 3-arm, parallel, randomized controlled trial comparing acupuncture vs. sham acupuncture vs. wait-list control.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: April 6, 2021
• First Posted: April 8, 2021
• Study Start: April 6, 2021
• Primary Completion (Estimated): April 1, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): April 1, 2027
• Last Updated: April 22, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-04

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share

Locations

US (7)