The goal of this study is to determine if acupuncture improves multiple symptoms associated with chemotherapy on the MD Anderson Symptom Inventory (MDASI): nausea, vomiting, fatigue, anxiety, anorexia, pain, disturbed sleep, shortness of breath, dry mouth, depression, and peripheral neuropathy (see statistical section). The investigators hypothesis is that acupuncture will result in lower MDASI scores over the course of chemotherapy for the acupuncture group vs. control group.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
10
Columbus Oncology and Hematology Associates
Columbus, Ohio, United States
MDASI Score of Chemotherapy-associated Symptoms With Acupuncture Treatment
The investigators will first plot M.D. Anderson Symptom Inventory Core Items (MDASI) scores over time for the acupuncture and control groups to visually inspect for differences between the two groups. The investigators will further evaluate the difference in MDASI scores for the two groups using linear mixed models that account for multiple measurements within a single patient. A mixed model is preferable to a repeated measures ANOVA in this case, as it allows for missing time points within a single subject without eliminating that subject from the analysis. Additionally, the investigators are able to specify how our time points are correlated within patients rather than assuming equal correlation across time points. The MDASI is comprised of 13 separate items that are not summative; therefore, the significance level for all statistical tests will be set at 0.003 (0.05/13) to account for multiple comparisons.
Time frame: 15 months
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