Positive effects of acupressure bands combined with relaxation music/instructions on patients most at risk for chemotherapy-induced nausea
Department
Oncology and Hematology
Document Type
Article
Publication Title
Supportive Care in Cancer
Abstract
Purpose: Research by our group has shown that acupressure bands are efficacious in reducing chemotherapy-induced nausea (CIN) for breast cancer patients who expect nausea, and that their effectiveness in controlling CIN can largely be accounted for by patients’ expectations of efficacy, i.e., a placebo effect. The present research examined if the effectiveness of acupressure bands could be enhanced by boosting patients’ expectation of the bands’ efficacy. Methods: Two hundred forty-two chemotherapy-naïve patients with breast cancer who expected nausea were randomized. Arms 1 and 2 received acupressure bands, plus a relaxation MP3 and written handout that were either expectancy-enhancing (arm 1) or expectancy-neutral (arm 2). Arm 3 was the control without bands or MP3 and received standard care. All participants received guideline-specified antiemetics. Results: Peak CIN for arms 1, 2, and 3 on a 1–7 scale was 3.52, 3.55, and 3.87, respectively (p = 0.46). Because no differences were observed between arms 1 and 2 (primary analysis), we combined these two arms (intervention) and compared them to controls for the following analyses. A significant interaction was found between intervention/control and receiving doxorubicin-based chemotherapy (yes/no) and pre-treatment anxiety (high/low). Intervention patients receiving doxorubicin had lower peak CIN than controls (3.62 vs. 4.38; p = 0.02). Similarly, intervention patients with high pre-treatment anxiety had a lower peak CIN than controls (3.62 vs. 4.62; p = 0.01). Conclusions: In breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and having high CIN expectation, acupressure bands combined with a relaxation recording were effective in reducing CIN for patients who received doxorubicin or had high anxiety.
First Page
4597
Last Page
4605
DOI
10.1007/s00520-019-04736-x
Volume
27
Issue
12
Publication Date
12-1-2019
Recommended Citation
Peoples, A., Culakova, E., Heckler, C., Shayne, M., O’Connor, T., Kirshner, J., Bushunow, P. W., Morrow, G., & Roscoe, J. (2019). Positive effects of acupressure bands combined with relaxation music/instructions on patients most at risk for chemotherapy-induced nausea. Supportive Care in Cancer, 27 (12), 4597-4605. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-019-04736-x