Self-Administered Relaxing Acupressure to Reduce Fatigue in Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Survivors

NCT ID: NCT06442891

Last Updated: 2026-01-21

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 42 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2024-10-01
• Study Completion Date: 2025-12-22

Brief Summary

This clinical trial tests the feasibility of self-administered relaxing acupressure on fatigue in adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer survivors. Acupressure, a type of complementary or alternative medicine, is the application of pressure or localized massage to specific sites on the body to control symptoms. Relaxing acupressure has been shown to improve cancer-related fatigue (CRF) in adults, however, less is known about the impact of relaxing acupressure on CRF in AYA cancer survivors."

Detailed Description

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE:

I. Determine the feasibility of implementing a randomized controlled trial of a six-week, self-administered relaxing acupressure intervention in AYA cancer survivors with clinically relevant CRF.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVE:

I. Explore participants' perspectives of acceptability and satisfaction with the six-week acupressure interventions using semi-structured interviews.

EXPLORATORY OBJECTIVE:

I. Determine the preliminary efficacy of a six-week, virtual, self-administered relaxing acupressure intervention on clinically significant changes in CRF in post-treatment AYA cancer survivors.

OUTLINE: Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 arms.

ARM I: Patients receive access to an acupressure mobile application and an AcuWand on study and self-administer relaxing acupressure to 9 acupoints over 27 minutes once daily (QD) for 6 weeks.

ARM II: Patients receive access to an acupressure mobile application and an AcuWand and self-administer sham acupressure to non-acupressure point locations over 27 minutes QD for 6 weeks.

Enrollment was increased to 45.

Conditions

Hematopoietic and Lymphatic System Neoplasm; Malignant Solid Neoplasm

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: SUPPORTIVE_CARE
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Study Groups

ARM I (relaxing acupressure)

Patients receive access to acupressure mobile application and an AcuWand on study and self-administer relaxing acupressure to 9 acupoints over 27 minutes QD for 6 weeks.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Acupressure Therapy

Intervention Type: PROCEDURE

Self-administer relaxing acupressure

Internet-Based Intervention

Intervention Type: OTHER

Receive access to acupressure mobile app

Interview

Intervention Type: OTHER

Ancillary studies

Medical Device Usage and Evaluation

Intervention Type: OTHER

Receive an AcuWand

Questionnaire Administration

Intervention Type: OTHER

Ancillary studies

ARM II (sham acupressure)

Patients receive access to acupressure mobile application and an AcuWand and self-administer sham acupressure to non-acupressure point locations over 27 minutes QD for 6 weeks.

Group Type: PLACEBO_COMPARATOR

Acupressure Therapy

Intervention Type: PROCEDURE

Self-administer sham acupressure

Internet-Based Intervention

Intervention Type: OTHER

Receive access to acupressure mobile app

Interview

Intervention Type: OTHER

Ancillary studies

Medical Device Usage and Evaluation

Intervention Type: OTHER

Receive an AcuWand

Questionnaire Administration

Intervention Type: OTHER

Ancillary studies

Interventions

Acupressure Therapy

Self-administer relaxing acupressure

Intervention Type: PROCEDURE

Acupressure Therapy

Self-administer sham acupressure

Intervention Type: PROCEDURE

Internet-Based Intervention

Receive access to acupressure mobile app

Intervention Type: OTHER

Interview

Ancillary studies

Intervention Type: OTHER

Medical Device Usage and Evaluation

Receive an AcuWand

Intervention Type: OTHER

Questionnaire Administration

Ancillary studies

Intervention Type: OTHER

Other Intervention Names

Acupressure; Ischemic Compression; Acupressure; Ischemic Compression

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• 15 - 39 years old
• At least three months post cancer treatment (e.g., surgery, radiation or chemotherapy). Participants receiving maintenance hormonal or targeted therapies will be allowed to enroll as determined by the study investigator
• Report clinically relevant fatigue in the past seven days (Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information Systems [PROMIS] Fatigue 4a scores ≥ 55)
• Speak / read English
• CRF started at or after the diagnosis of cancer
• Completed cancer treatment within the past five years

Exclusion Criteria

• Diagnosis of untreated anemia, mood disorder, or hypothyroidism
• Plan to begin new pharmacological, psychological, or other treatments (i.e., physical therapy or dietary supplements) for CRF during the study. Although, participants may continue usual treatments for CRF if the treatments were initiated at least eight weeks prior to study enrollment, and the dose has not changed
• Plan to become pregnant or lactating during the study period
• Received acupressure or acupuncture in the past year

• Minimum Eligible Age: 15 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 39 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

Robert Knoerl

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center

Locations

University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center

Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States

Countries

United States

Other Identifiers

NCI-2024-03772

Identifier Type: REGISTRY

Identifier Source: secondary_id

HUM00248915

Identifier Type: OTHER

Identifier Source: secondary_id

UMCC 2024.016

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id