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Complementary/Integrative Medicine for Brain Cancer Patients

Study Purpose

Nearly a quarter of a million patients are diagnosed each year with tumors of the central nervous system, a third of them malignant. The most common malignant tumor of the brain is the high grade glioma( HGG), whose treatment begins with surgical resection of the tumor, followed by a combined chemo-radiation regimen, with the drug Temodal (temozolomide). This treatment is often accompanied by toxic effects (e.g., nausea, headache, constipation, weakness/fatigue, and others), with treatment of these effects limited in their effectiveness and safety. Complementary medicine treatments such as acupuncture and touch therapies (reflexology, Shiatsu, etc.) have been researched and found to be both safe and effective for some of the toxic effects of oncology treatment regimens. The present pilot study is set to examine the impact of complementary medicine on the toxic effects of the conventional treatment for HGG. The study will include 40 patients and will last for two years, during which patients will be treated with acupuncture and/or touch therapies, this in parallel to their chemo-radiation regimen. The primary study outcome will be the scores on four Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs): the Measure Yourself Concerns and Wellbeing (MYCAW) study tool; the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy, Brain Cancer (FACT-Br) questionnaire; the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS); and the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-c30). Secondary study outcomes will include the safety of the complementary medicine treatments, and adherence to the planned oncology treatment regimen, as measured by the Relative Dose Intensity (RDI) calculation.

Recruitment Criteria

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Healthy volunteers are participants who do not have a disease or condition, or related conditions or symptoms

No
Study Type

An interventional clinical study is where participants are assigned to receive one or more interventions (or no intervention) so that researchers can evaluate the effects of the interventions on biomedical or health-related outcomes.


An observational clinical study is where participants identified as belonging to study groups are assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.


Searching Both is inclusive of interventional and observational studies.

Interventional
Eligible Ages 18 Years and Over
Gender All
More Inclusion & Exclusion Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

  • - patient aged 18 years and older.
  • - diagnosed with high grade glioma (stage III-IV) - following surgical intervention (tumor resection) - prior to chemo-radiation treatment.
  • - signing of informed consent form.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • - inability/unwillingness to sign informed consent form.
- unwillingness of treating oncologist to allow participation in the study

Trial Details

Trial ID:

This trial id was obtained from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, providing information on publicly and privately supported clinical studies of human participants with locations in all 50 States and in 196 countries.

NCT03185780
Phase

Phase 1: Studies that emphasize safety and how the drug is metabolized and excreted in humans.

Phase 2: Studies that gather preliminary data on effectiveness (whether the drug works in people who have a certain disease or condition) and additional safety data.

Phase 3: Studies that gather more information about safety and effectiveness by studying different populations and different dosages and by using the drug in combination with other drugs.

Phase 4: Studies occurring after FDA has approved a drug for marketing, efficacy, or optimal use.

N/A
Lead Sponsor

The sponsor is the organization or person who oversees the clinical study and is responsible for analyzing the study data.

The Chaim Sheba Medical Center
Principal Investigator

The person who is responsible for the scientific and technical direction of the entire clinical study.

Noah Samuels, MD
Principal Investigator Affiliation Tal Center for Integrative Oncology, Institute of Oncology, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Israel
Agency Class

Category of organization(s) involved as sponsor (and collaborator) supporting the trial.

Other
Overall Status Withdrawn
Countries
Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied.

Quality of Life, Chemotherapeutic Toxicity, Radiation Toxicity
Arms & Interventions

Arms

Experimental: Treatment

Patients will be treated with acupuncture and/or touch therapies, this in parallel to their chemo-radiation regimen. These treatments will be administered twice-weekly during active chemo-radiation treatment (6 weeks), followed by once-weekly treatment throughout the remainder of the study period (6 months)

Interventions

Other: - Acupuncture

Acupuncture: the insertion of use of ultra-fine needles (diameter 0.18 - 0.30mm) into designated "acupoints" in the skin, along the limbs and trunk areas. Reflexology: The massage + application of localized pressure on designated points along the plantar aspect of the feet. Shiatsu: The application of localized pressure along designated points (similar to "acupoints") along the limbs and trunk areas.

Contact Information

This trial has no sites locations listed at this time. If you are interested in learning more, you can contact the trial's primary contact:

For additional contact information, you can also visit the trial on clinicaltrials.gov.