Acupuncture for quality of life in breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy - a pragmatic randomized trial

Acupuncture for quality of life in breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy - a pragmatic randomized trial

 

At the Breast Cancer Center Hamburg, patients with breast cancer receiving chemotherapy have the option to receive acupuncture treatment in addition to conventional therapy to maintain quality of life and to reduce the side effects of chemotherapy. The primary aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of adding acupuncture treatment to usual care compared to usual care only on health-related quality of life in patients with breast cancer. In a randomized pragmatic trial, 140 women with newly diagnosed breast cancer treated at the Mammazentrum Jerusalem Krankenhaus who, in addition to chemotherapy, will receive acupuncture treatment, will be compared to patients who receive no acupuncture (control group). Treatment duration is 6 months. The main outcome parameter is the quality of life measured with the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy - Breast Cancer (FACT-B) questionnaire at 6 months.

Principle investigator:
Carstensen, MD (Breast Cancer Center, Jerusalem Krankenhaus Hamburg)
Witt, MD, MBA, (Charité)
Brinkhaus, MD, (Charité)

Project coordinator:
Farenholtz (Breast Cancer Center, Jerusalem Krankenhaus Hamburg)
Ortiz, MD (Charité)

Research associate:
Kirschbaum (Breast Cancer Center, Jerusalem Krankenhaus Hamburg)

Statistics:
Roll, PhD

Data management:
Binting

Study nurse:
Wohlers (Mammazentrum, Jerusalem Krankenhaus Hamburg)
Cree (Charité)

Project duration:
2012-2016

Project status:
publication phase

Funding:
Dorit und Alexander Otto Stiftung