Zapping acupoints may calm chemo sickness

NCT ID NCT07509905

Symptom relief Sponsor: Cairo University Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time

Summary

This study tested whether mild electrical pulses on specific acupoints could reduce nausea and vomiting caused by cisplatin chemotherapy. Thirty-four cancer patients received the stimulation during treatment. The goal was to see if this drug-free approach could ease these common side effects.

What this could mean

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

Active substance: transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) device
What this could lead to: If it works, this could offer a drug-free way to ease nausea and vomiting during chemotherapy, improving comfort without extra medications.
What could go wrong: This is a small, completed study with only 34 participants, so results may not apply to everyone. The effect may be modest or not better than standard care.

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

34 people

The number who actually took part.

Started

Oct 2025

Finished

Feb 2026

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

40 to 60 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: * Male and female patients who their ages between 40 and 60. * All patients diagnosed with cancer and planned to receive TACE treatment with cisplatin (60 mg) as the main drug. The chemotherapy regimen will not include steroids. * Karnofsky's score ≥60. * All patients will receive the same antiemetic drug. * None of them receiving other physical therapy modalities to treat nausea and vomiting. * The skin of acupoint site receiving electrical acupoint stimulation must be intact and without visible evidence of injury * All patient can tolerate mild discomfort following electrical stimulation. * All patients enrolled in the study will have their informed consent. Exclusion Criteria: * Combined use of other venous chemotherapy within 5 days after Transarterial Chemoembolization * Other confounding factors that may cause nausea and vomiting (such as intestinal obstruction, anorexia, and so on) * Having vomited or used 5 HT3 receptor antagonists or other antiemetics within 24 hours before Transarterial Chemoembolization . * Receiving concurrent radiotherapy * Severe uncontrolled complications and unstable metastases * Installing pacemaker, Pregnancy. * History of convulsions or seizure disorder. * Cognitive dysfunction, unable to finish Scale * Transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation treatment within the past year regardless of indication.

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

cancer Vomiting

As listed by the trial registrant

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

Acupuncture Nausea post chemotherapy Transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation Vomiting

Zapping acupoints may calm chemo sickness

What the study statuses mean