Can acupuncture improve CIPN and the quality of life? Version 1.0

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    A Retrospective cohort study on the ability of acupuncture to improve chemotherapy- induced peripheral neuropathy symptoms and the quality of life.

  • IRAS ID

    253633

  • Contact name

    Pavla Kosnarova

  • Contact email

    pavlakosnarova@hotmail.com

  • Sponsor organisation

    The Northern College of Acupuncture

  • Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier

    STH20816, STH (Sheffield Teaching Hospitals) Project Registration

  • Duration of Study in the UK

    0 years, 5 months, 0 days

  • Research summary

    This study is aiming to answer the question of what is the odds ratio for improvement in chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) symptoms following treatment with standardised acupuncture protocol and an effect on the quality of life. CIPN is a common complication of some chemotherapy drugs and it has a significant impact on the quality of life of patients with cancer.
    The population under review are patients with a history of cancer who developed CIPN. There will be two groups of patients: patients exposed and unexposed to acupuncture treatment. Patients in the exposed group were treated with acupuncture according to a standardised protocol. These patients will be recruited from the Trinity Holistic Centre – South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
    Control group are patients with CIPN who were not exposed to acupuncture treatment. These patients will be recruited from Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and from Weston Park Hospital – Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (if an insufficient number of patients recruited from Barnsley).
    The primary outcome is to calculate the Odds ratio for improvement in CIPN symptoms following treatment with standardised acupuncture protocol. The secondary outcome is to assess the quality of life of cancer patients with the history of CIPN. There is an insufficient number of studies investigating the impact of CIPN on the quality of life six months after chemotherapy and up to 10 years after chemotherapy.
    A Retrospective cohort study will be used to investigate the association between improvement in CIPN symptoms and acupuncture treatment. Data will be collected six months and up to 10 years after completion of chemotherapy. Participants in both cohorts will be asked to fill out three postal questionnaires.

  • REC name

    South Central - Berkshire B Research Ethics Committee

  • REC reference

    19/SC/0307

  • Date of REC Opinion

    6 Aug 2019

  • REC opinion

    Further Information Favourable Opinion