Cancer-related fatigue Signs and Symptoms Malaise and fatigue
Conditions
Interventions
The 112 eligible participants are randomly allocated to two different groups:
1. Participants in the intervention group will receive acupuncture therapy three times a week for 3 weeks.
2. Participants
Sponsors
Beijing Municipal Administration of Hospitals
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Inclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria: 1. Patients with a definite pathologic diagnosis of breast cancer or lung cancer who had completed chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy at least 3 months, or never received chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy ever before 2. Aged 18-75 3. There are at least two cycles of chemotherapy planned during the study program 4. Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status 0-2 5. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) syndrome is differentiated as deficiency of spleen qi and stomach qi 6. Anticipated survival time is more than 6 months 7. All patients provided written informed consent before enrollment
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria: 1. Complicated with other serious heart, liver, kidney, immune and hematopoietic system diseases 2. Pregnant women or women who are breastfeeding 3. Patients who were on active treatment for anaemia (i.e., EPO or blood transfusions) 4. Patients who were receiving steroids to alleviate fatigue 5. Patients who had been diagnosed with depression, anxiety disorders, mental illness and cognitive disorders 6. Patients who had low platelet count or suffered from a bleeding disorder (e.g., haemophilia) 7. Complicated with sepsis or bacteremia 8. Patients who had lymphoedema at the area of the acupuncture points 9. Patients who are allergic to stainless steel needle or had needle phobia
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Piper Fatigue Scale-Chinese Version (PFS-CV), a multidimensional assessment tool for measuring the level of fatigue subjectively for patients with cancer. It will be assessed before chemotherapy, at the 3rd day, 7th day, 14th day and 21st day during the chemotherapy | — |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| 1. TCM symptoms scale to evaluate TCM syndrome (deficiency of spleen qi and stomach qi) 2. TCM (traditional Chinese medicine) syndrome will be assessed before chemotherapy and at the 3rd day, 7th day, 14th day and 21st day during the chemotherapy | — |
Countries
China
Outcome results
None listed