Acupuncture Versus Massage for Pain in Patients Living with Advanced Cancer: a Protocol for the IMPACT Randomised Clinical Trial

Overview

Journal BMJ Open

Specialty General Medicine

Date 2022 Dec 29

PMID 36581960

Authors

Sally A D Romero

Nicholas Emard

Raymond E Baser

Katherine Panageas

Jodi MacLeod

Desiree Walker

Margaret Barton-Burke

Kevin Liou

Gary Deng

John Farrar

Han Xiao

Jun J Mao

Andrew Epstein

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Introduction: Pain, comorbid fatigue and sleep disturbances are common and distressing symptoms for patients with advanced cancer, negatively impacting their quality of life. Clinical guidelines recommend non-pharmacological interventions, including acupuncture and massage, for pain management in adult patients with cancer in adjunct to conventional care. However, high-quality evidence about the comparative effectiveness and long-term durability of these therapies for symptom management is limited.

Methods And Analysis: We describe the design of a two-arm, parallel group, multicentre randomised controlled trial that investigates the use of acupuncture versus massage for musculoskeletal pain among 300 patients with diverse types of advanced cancer. The primary aim is to evaluate the long-term effectiveness (26 weeks from randomisation) of acupuncture vs massage for pain (primary outcome) and comorbid symptoms (fatigue, sleep disturbance and quality of life). The secondary aim is to identify patient-level demographic characteristics (eg, sex, race, age), clinical factors (eg, insomnia, pain severity) and psychological attributes that are associated with a greater reduction in pain for either acupuncture or massage. Patients will receive weekly acupuncture or massage treatments for 10 weeks, followed by monthly booster sessions up to 26 weeks. The primary endpoint will be the change in worst pain intensity score from baseline to 26 weeks. We will collect validated patient-reported outcomes at multiple time points over 26 weeks.

Ethics And Dissemination: The Institutional Review Board at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York approved this protocol. Results will be disseminated via peer-reviewed scientific journals and conference presentations. Our findings will help patients and healthcare providers make informed decisions about incorporating non-pharmacological treatments to manage pain for patients with advanced cancer.

Trial Registration Number: NCT04095234.

Citing Articles

Association between Hispanic Ethnicity and Greater Expectation of Benefit from Acupuncture or Massage for Pain in Cancer.

Booher A, Mao J, Muniz R, Romero S, Li S, Lopez A J Immigr Minor Health. 2024; 26(5):953-957.

PMID: 38977653 DOI: 10.1007/s10903-024-01611-8.

Are Published Cancer Care Trial Protocols With Traditional Chinese Medicine Interventions Concordant With SPIRIT-TCM Extension 2018? A Scoping Review on Published Trial Protocols Between 2019 and 2022.

Lai H, Yang P, Wang X, Lim D, Lam A, Shi Y Integr Cancer Ther. 2024; 23:15347354231223966.

PMID: 38291957 PMC: 10832418. DOI: 10.1177/15347354231223966.

Acupuncture vs Massage for Pain in Patients Living With Advanced Cancer: The IMPACT Randomized Clinical Trial.

Epstein A, Liou K, Romero S, Baser R, Wong G, Xiao H JAMA Netw Open. 2023; 6(11):e2342482.

PMID: 37962891 PMC: 10646731. DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.42482.

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