Recruiting

Massage Therapy

Sponsor:

City of Hope Medical Center

Code:

NCT07184294

Conditions

Hematopoietic and Lymphatic System Neoplasm

Malignant Solid Neoplasm

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Best Practice

Biospecimen Collection

Massage Therapy

Massage Therapy

Massage Therapy

Study Details

Brief summary:

This clinical trial tests how well different types of massage therapy works to reduce anxiety during chemotherapy infusions in patients with cancer. Many cancer patients experience moderate to severe anxiety and anxiety can worsen by the anticipation of medical procedures that patients have to receive, particularly chemotherapy. Massage therapy, as a complementary treatment, has shown promise in lessening both physical and psychological symptoms associated with cancer and its treatments. Research has also shown the benefits of massage therapy in reducing pain, stress, anxiety, nausea (upset stomach), fatigue (tiredness), and depression in cancer patients. Different types of massage therapy may potentially reduce some cancer patients' symptoms, enhance their treatment, and reduce treatment related side effects.

Conditions

Hematopoietic and Lymphatic System Neoplasm

Malignant Solid Neoplasm

Study ID

NCT07184294

Start date

Aug 28, 2025

Status verified date

Sep, 2025

Completion date

Nov 28, 2026

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Nov 28, 2026

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Participant must be 18 years of age or older at time of consent
  • The study is open to all participants regardless of gender, race, or ethnicity
  • Participants should have had at least 1 cycle of the chemotherapy regimen at the time of recruitment
  • Participant must have a baseline anxiety score > 3 on the Visual Analog scale (VAS)
  • Scheduled for at least six more infusion sessions
  • Participant has had complete blood count (CBC) lab work completed in the past 24 hours

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Platelet count less than 20,000. Patients taking anticoagulants are not excluded, as the protocol for massage in infusion ensures that deep pressure massage is never performed, and patient's massage will not exceed a 3 on the Walton scale
  • Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) less than 500
  • Patient has received radiation therapy to any of the targeted areas within the past 90 days
  • Any patient that is currently using a cold therapy device that would interfere with their ability to have a massage without removing the device (cold gloves, cold socks)
  • Had surgery on their foot, leg, head, neck, shoulder, hands, or arms within the past three months
  • Participant has rashes, open wounds, or any skin conditions that could be exacerbated by massage
  • Known allergies to creams, lotions, or any other substances that may be used during the massage therapy sessions
  • Ongoing uncontrolled active psychiatric condition that would interfere in the conduct of the study (e.g., mood disorders, anxiety, psychosis disorders, or substance use), as determined by the patient's primary cancer team
  • Participants with a known allergy to Bioton dual-purpose massage cream or any of its ingredients will be excluded from the study
  • In order to minimize undue influence and coercion, the study team will not personally solicit an employee for participation: An employee who is under the direct/indirect supervision of the principal investigator (PI)/a co-investigator/the study manager and a direct study team member
  • Pregnancy
  • Any participants with bone metastasis

Study Design

Enrollment

50 participants

Anticipated

Intervention Model

Single group

Primary purpose

Supportive Care

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Supportive Care (FL, HNS, HA, combination, no massage)

Patients receive massage therapy according to a randomized schedule to the FL, HNS, hands/arms (HA), combination of all three groups (FL, HNS, HA) or no massage therapy over 30 minutes over 5 chemotherapy sessions total on study. Patients also undergo saliva sample collection on study.

Interventions

Best Practice

Receive no massage therapy

Biospecimen Collection

Undergo saliva sample collection

Massage Therapy

Receive FL therapy

Massage Therapy

Receive HNS therapy

Massage Therapy

Receive HA therapy

Massage Therapy

Receive combination FL, HNS, and HA therapy

Questionnaire Administration

Ancillary studies

Primary outcome measure

  • Participation rate [ Time Frame: Up to 1 year ]
  • Completion rate [ Time Frame: Up to 1 year ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Locations

City of Hope at Irvine Lennar

Recruiting

Irvine, California, United States, 92618

Contacts

Richard T. Lee

949-671-4091RichLee@coh.org

Principal Investigator:

Richard T. Lee

More Information

Sponsor

City of Hope Medical Center

Last update posted

Sep 19, 2025

Last verified

Sep, 2025

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by City of Hope Medical Center on 2025-09-19.