Ancient heat therapy tested for Life-Threatening transplant complication

NCT ID NCT07572669

First seen Jun 24, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time

Summary

This study tests whether moxibustion, a traditional Chinese medicine technique that involves burning dried mugwort near the skin, can help people with a severe complication of stem cell transplants called graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) that does not respond to steroids. The trial will enroll 42 patients who have gut symptoms like belly pain and diarrhea. All will receive standard second-line drugs, and some will also get moxibustion once or twice daily for 28 days. The main goal is to see if the combination improves response rates by day 28.

What this could mean

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

Active substance

moxibustion (a traditional Chinese medicine procedure involving burning dried mugwort near the skin at specific acupoints)

What this could lead to

If it works, this could offer a safe, non-drug add-on therapy to help control severe gut symptoms in patients who don't respond to steroids after a stem cell transplant.

What could go wrong

This is a small, early-phase (Phase 2) trial with only 42 participants, so results may not apply broadly. Moxibustion is an unproven complementary therapy, and any benefit over standard care alone is uncertain.

Disclaimer Read more

This is a summary of the original study . Summaries may miss details or leave out important information. Before applying or accepting participation, make sure you have read and understood the full study. Curemydisease.com takes no responsibility whatsoever for anything missed, misunderstood, or acted upon as a result of our summary — we know it does not capture everything.

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

acute graft versus host disease graft versus host disease

As listed by the trial registrant

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

Contacts and locations

Study contacts

  • Contact

    Phone: •••-•••-•••• Email: •••••@•••••

Locations

  • Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology

    RECRUITING

    Wuhan, Hubei, 430022, China

    Contact Phone: •••-•••-•••• Email: •••••@•••••