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Touch and tingle: Non-Drug therapies aim to tame chemo side effects

NCT ID NCT07711626

Symptom relief Sponsor: Tzu Chi University Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

What the study statuses mean

This study's is highlighted.

Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now This study
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused
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 Results may not be published yet.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)

Expanded access
Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
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

Details not published
The full record has not been published yet, so there is little to show here.
Status unknown
This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.

First seen Jul 17, 2026 · Last updated Jul 24, 2026 · Updated 1 time

Summary

This study tests whether foot reflexology or a mild electrical nerve stimulation on the ear can reduce pain, dry mouth, fatigue, and sleep problems in people with head and neck cancer who are receiving chemoradiotherapy. Participants are randomly assigned to receive the real treatment, a sham version, or usual care, and are followed for four weeks. The goal is to find safe, drug-free ways to improve quality of life during cancer treatment.

What this could mean

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

Active substance
foot reflexology and transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation
What this could lead to
If effective, these non-drug therapies could offer a safe, low-cost way to manage multiple debilitating side effects of chemoradiotherapy in head and neck cancer patients.
What could go wrong
This is a small, early-stage trial with sham controls, so results may not be conclusive. The benefits, if any, might be modest or not apply to all patients.

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

Not a phased trial

Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.

Participants

About 180 people

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

Started

Jul 2026

Expected to finish

Dec 2028

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

30 to 75 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: * Pathologically confirmed head and neck cancer, clinical stage II-IVA, age 30-75 years, conscious, able to communicate and comprehend, and able to comply with study procedures * Scheduled to receive a second cycle of cisplatin-based concurrent chemoradiotherapy * ECOG performance status ≤2 Exclusion Criteria: * Severe cognitive impairment or psychiatric illness precluding comprehension or cooperation * Open wounds or skin lesions of the foot or ear, lower-limb edema, history of deep vein thrombosis, or diabetes with most recent HbA1c \>7.5% * Cardiac pacemaker or other implanted electronic device, or other severe cardiovascular disease * Severe bone-marrow suppression (WBC \<2,000/µL or platelets \<50,000/µL) * Pregnant or breastfeeding women * History of epilepsy or seizures * Physically frail condition

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

head and neck cancer head and neck neoplasm Head and Neck Neoplasms insomnia Pain Xerostomia

As listed by the trial registrant

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

Cancer-related fatigue Chemoradiotherapy-related symptoms Head and neck neoplasms Pain Xerostomia

How to take part

Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.

  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.

    Open the record ↗

  3. A doctor treating you

    A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.

Contacts and locations

Locations

  • Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital, Department of Otorhinolaryngology

    RECRUITING

    Hualien City, 970, Taiwan

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