Needle and Laser Acupuncture as Supportive Care for Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

AI summary

From the trial's eligibility criteria. Machine-read from the registry text on this page, so it can be wrong. The registry text below and the trial team decide who can take part.

The trial is looking for adults with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (stage IIIB/IIIC or IV) who have at least a moderate level of symptoms. It tests needle acupuncture and laser acupuncture as supportive care.

Age

18 years or older

Sex

Women and men can join

Disease stage

Non-small cell lung cancer confirmed by tissue or cell tests, stage IIIB/IIIC or stage IV. ECOG performance status 0-2. At least a moderate symptom burden, such as breathlessness, tiredness, pain or poor sleep.

Earlier treatment

People must be receiving or planning to receive standard systemic therapy, radiotherapy, or supportive care only. People who had acupuncture in the last three months cannot join.

Main reasons for not taking part

• Bleeding tendency or severe low platelet count that makes acupuncture unsafe
• Unstable heart or lung disease, or an active infection in the body
• Skin infection where the needles would go
• Memory or thinking problems that prevent filling in questionnaires
• Taking part in another supportive-care trial at the same time

The registry criteria, word for word

What the trial wants to find out

This three-arm randomized controlled clinical trial evaluates the clinical efficacy and safety of needle acupuncture and laser acupuncture compared with placebo (sham) laser acupuncture as supportive care for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC, Stage IIIB-IV). The study aims to investigate improvements in lung cancer-specific quality of life, symptom burden, functional status, and sleep quality over a 6 to 8-week intervention period.

The 3 groups in the trial

• Needle Acupuncture GroupTreatment being tested

  Participants receive standardized needle acupuncture applied to predefined acupuncture points (core points: ST36, SP6, LI4, LU7 bilaterally, GV20 unilaterally; plus 2-4 syndrome-directed points) twice weekly for 6-8 weeks (total 12-16 sessions, 20-25 minutes per session), in addition to standard-of-care oncologic treatment.

  Treatment: Needle Acupuncture

• Laser Acupuncture GroupTreatment being tested

  Participants receive active low-level laser acupuncture applied to the same acupuncture points as the needle group twice weekly for 6-8 weeks (wavelength: 650-830 nm, power: 20-50 mW, 1-3 J/point, 30-60 seconds/point), in addition to standard-of-care oncologic treatment.

  Treatment: Laser Acupuncture

• Sham Laser Acupuncture GroupSham treatment, for comparison

  Participants receive sham laser acupuncture using an identical device with no therapeutic laser emission, applied to the same points and for the same duration, in addition to standard-of-care oncologic treatment.

  Treatment: Sham Laser Acupuncture