The Effect of Acupuncture on Cancer-Related Cognitive Difficulties

Phase 2

Active, not recruiting

• Conditions: Breast Cancer
• Interventions: Procedure: Sham Acupuncture; Procedure: Acupuncture; Other: Wait-List Control (WLC); Other: Questionnaires

• Registration Number: NCT04837820
• Lead Sponsor: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

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.

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2021-04-06
• Study First Submitted: 2021-04-06
• Study First Submitted QC: 2021-04-06
• Study First Posted: 2021-04-08
• Status Verified: 2025-04
• Last Update Submitted: 2025-04-17
• Last Update Posted: 2025-04-23
• Primary Completion: 2026-04
• Study Completion: 2026-04

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING
• Sex: Female
• Target Recruitment: 270

Inclusion Criteria

• 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

Exclusion Criteria

• 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

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Sham Acupuncture (SA)	Sham Acupuncture	The intervention will consist of 10 acupuncture sessions over 10 weeks using the standardized, semi-fixed protocol.
Acupuncture	Acupuncture	The intervention will consist of 10 acupuncture sessions over 10 weeks using the standardized, semi-fixed protocol.
Sham Acupuncture (SA)	Questionnaires	The intervention will consist of 10 acupuncture sessions over 10 weeks using the standardized, semi-fixed protocol.
Acupuncture	Questionnaires	The intervention will consist of 10 acupuncture sessions over 10 weeks using the standardized, semi-fixed protocol.
Wait-List Control	Wait-List Control (WLC)	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).
Wait-List Control	Questionnaires	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).

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
cognitive difficulties	26 weeks	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.

Trial Locations

Locations (7)

Memorial Sloan Kettering Basking Ridge (Limited Protocol activities); 🇺🇸 Basking Ridge, New Jersey, United States

Memorial Sloan Kettering Monmouth (Limited Protocol activities); 🇺🇸 Middletown, New Jersey, United States

Memorial Sloan Kettering Bergen (Limited Protocol Activities); 🇺🇸 Montvale, New Jersey, United States

Memorial Sloan Kettering Suffolk- Commack (Limited Protocol Activities); 🇺🇸 Commack, New York, United States

Memorial Sloan Kettering Westchester (Limited Protocol Activities); 🇺🇸 Harrison, New York, United States

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; 🇺🇸 New York, New York, United States

Memorial Sloan Kettering Nassau (Limited Protocol Activities); 🇺🇸 Uniondale, New York, United States