Ancient acupressure meets modern medicine: can ear stimulation replace standard Anti-Nausea drugs?

NCT ID NCT07716228

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Recruiting now This study
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Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
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Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

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Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
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Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

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Status unknown
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First seen Jul 21, 2026 · Last updated Jul 22, 2026 · Updated 1 time

Summary

This phase 3 trial tests whether a combination of ear acupressure (stimulating specific points on the ear) and a low dose of the steroid dexamethasone can prevent nausea and vomiting from chemotherapy as effectively as standard antiemetic drugs in pancreatic cancer patients. Participants receiving gemcitabine and paclitaxel protein-bound will be randomly assigned to either the acupressure-plus-dexamethasone group or a standard drug regimen. The study tracks nausea, vomiting, appetite, and gastrointestinal function over five days after each chemo session.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance
auricular point stimulation (acupressure on ear points) plus dexamethasone
What this could lead to
If effective, this approach could offer a drug-sparing, low-cost option to manage chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, improving quality of life during treatment.
What could go wrong
This is a relatively small trial, and the non-inferiority design means it may not prove superiority. The acupressure effect may be placebo-driven, and results may not generalize to other chemo regimens.

This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.

Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Phase

Phase 3

Large-scale testing in a bigger group. Usually the last step before a treatment can be approved.

Participants

About 74 people

The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.

Started

Dec 2025

Expected to finish

Dec 2026

An estimate. End dates often move.

Lead sponsor

Other sponsor

The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.

Who can take part

This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.

Ages

18 to 85 years

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Not accepted

This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.

Show the full entry requirements

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: * Patients must meet the following inclusion criteria for the study: \* Age ≥ 18 years and ≤ 85 years; \* Patients with pancreatic cancer after radical resection or with advanced pancreatic cancer, who require further chemotherapy with the gemcitabine plus paclitaxel albumin-bound regimen; \* ECOG performance status score of 0-2; \* Normal hematological function (platelet count \> 80×10⁹/L; white blood cell count \> 3×10⁹/L; neutrophil count \> 1.5×10⁹/L); \* Serum bilirubin ≤ 1.5 times the upper limit of normal (ULN), and transaminase ≤ 5 times the ULN; \* No ascites, no gastrointestinal obstruction, normal coagulation function, and serum albumin ≥ 30g/L; \* Child-Pugh classification of liver function is Grade A; \* Serum creatinine \< ULN, or calculated creatinine clearance rate \> 50ml/min. Exclusion Criteria: * Patients who meet any of the following criteria will be excluded from the study: \* Local inflammation or infection of the auricleBleeding tendency or coagulation disorders; \* Severe ascites; \* Gastrointestinal obstruction; \* Hypertensive crisis or hypertensive encephalopathy; \* Severe uncontrolled systemic complications such as infection or diabetes mellitus; \* Clinically severe cardiovascular diseases, including cerebrovascular accident (within 6 months before enrollment), myocardial infarction (within 6 months before enrollment), hypertension that is not well-controlled despite appropriate medication, unstable angina pectoris, congestive heart failure (NYHA Class 2-4), and cardiac arrhythmias requiring drug treatment; \* A history of or physical examination findings indicating central nervous system diseases (e.g., primary brain tumor, epilepsy uncontrolled by standard treatment, any history of brain metastasis or stroke); \* Hypersensitivity to any drugs used in the study; \* Pregnant or lactating women; \* Presence of any other diseases, functional impairment caused by metastatic lesions, or suspicious disorders identified during physical examination, which suggest contraindications to the study drugs or place the patient at high risk of treatment-related complications; \* Inability or unwillingness to comply with the study protocol.

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

How to take part

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  1. The places running it

    1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.

  2. The official record

    ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.

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  3. A doctor treating you

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Contacts and locations

Locations

  • Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine

    RECRUITING

    Hangzhou, China

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