Acupuncture for Chronic Lymphedema

Completed · Phase 2

Conditions studied: Breast Cancer With Chronic Lymphedema

In brief

This study is being done because women have arm swelling for more than 6 months despite wrapping and other treatments. This swelling is called lymphedema. It is the back up of lymph system fluid that causes swelling in the arm. The swelling can just happen, but more commonly it is caused when lymph nodes are removed during cancer surgery. It can develop right after breast cancer treatment or weeks, months or even years later. In our preliminary research, the investigators found that more than 1/3 of the 33 patients showed at least a 30% reduction in lymphedema following acupuncture treatment and there were no serious adverse events during the treatment or 6 month followup. This study will include a larger group of patients. Patients will be assigned to one of two groups, and results of the groups will be compared to see if acupuncture can reduce lymphedema and whether the effect lasts after acupuncture treatment is completed.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT01706081

Run by

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

People needed

82

Starts

2012-10-01

Expected to finish

2018-04-11

Last updated by the study team

2019-08-29

Who can join

Age: 18 and older. Sex: female. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Women age 18 or older
• Lymphedema in an arm as a result of surgery, chemotherapy, and/or radiation therapy for breast cancer per breast surgeon or medical oncologist
• Patients must have received a clinical diagnosis of lymphedema for at least 6 months and no more than 5 years. This timeframe allows ample time for any surgically related non lymphedema swelling to subside by 6 months post-surgery, while a cap of 5 years will capture the broadest range of cases, and has been used as a timeframe in several studies including our pilot study.
• The affected arm must be >2cm larger than the unaffected arm. Differences of 2 cm or more between the affected and unaffected arm are considered by experts to be clinically significant. Each affected arm will be measured in two areas: upper arm and forearm.
• The larger of the two measures-upper arm or forearm- will be used for analysis.
• Classified as International Society of Lymphology (ISL) stage II or higher as determined by an MSKCC Certified Lymphedema Therapist (CLT).

You may not qualify if…

• Bilateral lymphedema
• Previous acupuncture treatment for lymphedema
• Concurrent diuretic use
• History of primary (congenital) lymphedema
• Pregnant or planning to become pregnant during the course of the study
• Has an implanted electronically charged medical device

Where it is running

• Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center — New York, New York, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

Trial information comes from ClinicalTrials.gov and is refreshed daily. TrialsForMe does not provide medical care and does not run the studies it lists.