NCT02474095

Acupuncture-Like Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation in Treating Radiation-Induced Xerostomia in Patients With Head and Neck Cancer

Two Versus Four Times-Weekly ALTENS for Treatment of Radiation-Induced Xerostomia: A Pilot Study

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 30 (actual)
• Sponsor: Roswell Park Cancer Institute · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

This randomized pilot clinical trial studies alternate schedules for acupuncture-like transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (ALTENS) in treating dry mouth (xerostomia) caused by radiation therapy (RT) in patients with head and neck cancer. ALTENS is a procedure in which mild electric currents are applied to certain acupuncture points on the body and may help relieve dry mouth caused by RT and improve quality of life. It is not yet known whether giving ALTENS more frequently works better than standard ALTENS in treating dry mouth caused by RT.

Detailed description

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: I. Determine whether ALTENS treatment using a four-times weekly schedule for 6 weeks reduces overall xerostomia burden, using the University of Michigan 15-item Xerostomia-related Quality of Life Scale (XeQoLS), compared to the standard ALTENAS schedule of twice-weekly for 12 weeks, at 15 months from the start of ALTENS treatment. SECONDARY OBJECTIVES: I. Determine whether ALTENS treatment using a four-times weekly schedule for 6 weeks reduces overall xerostomia burden, using the University of Michigan 15-item Xerostomia-related Quality of Life Scale (XeQoLS), compared to the standard ALTENS schedule of twice-weekly for 12 weeks, at 6, 9, 15, and 21 months from the start of ALTENS treatment. II. Examine the benefit of ALTENS treatment using a four-times weekly schedule for 6 weeks on overall quality of life, using the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) quality of life questionnaire, QLQ-C30, including the questionnaire module specific to head and neck cancers (QLQ-H\&N35), compared to the standard ALTENS schedule of twice-weekly for 12 weeks, at 6, 9, 15, and 21 months from the start of ALTENS treatment. III. To compare the toxicity between treatment schedules using the Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program (CTEP) National Cancer Institute (NCI) Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE Version 4.0). OUTLINE: Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 treatment arms. ARM I: Patients undergo ALTENS delivered via the Codetron machine four times weekly (QIW) for 6 weeks in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. ARM II: Patients undergo ALTENS delivered via the Codetron machine twice-weekly (BIW) for 12 weeks in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. After completion of study treatment, patients are followed up at 6, 9, 15, and 21 months.

Conditions

• Head and Neck Carcinoma
• Xerostomia

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Quality-of-Life Assessment	Ancillary studies
PROCEDURE	Transcutaneous Acupoint Electrical Stimulation	Undergo ALTENS

Timeline

• Start date: 2014-11-04
• Primary completion: 2018-10-12
• Completion: 2019-10-12
• First posted: 2015-06-17
• Last updated: 2022-07-25

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States