Auricular Point Acupressure to Manage Chemotherapy Induced Neuropathy

超过60%的癌症患者经历了化疗引起的神经病变(CIN)，这是一种严重的副作用 化疗(包括铂类药物、长春花碱、紫杉烷和/或硼替佐米)。CIN可能会导致 治疗延迟、剂量减少或停止治疗可能会影响存活率。使用 癌症治疗的改善和更长的生存期，CIN的晚期效应继续产生显著的 高达50%的癌症幸存者在治疗6年后患有CIN的负担，是治疗后的1.8倍 跌倒的风险增加。CIN继续导致严重的功能残疾，对患者的质量产生负面影响 生命，并极大地要求高昂的医疗保健成本和资源使用。 我们建议测试耳穴穴位按压(APA)--一种非侵入性和非药理性的患者 管理战略--作为CIN的创新解决方案。APA是在耳针的基础上发展而来的 是侵入性的(使用针头)和被动的治疗(由有执照的医生管理)。APA是一种 对疼痛患者进行非侵入性和积极的治疗。它包括无针针灸般的刺激 耳穴。细小的种子由熟练的提供者贴在特定的耳穴上，患者按压耳穴 种子刺激耳穴，每天三次，每次三分钟，每天共九分钟 实现止痛。APA在耳部刺激后1-2分钟内提供疼痛缓解，并持续缓解疼痛 在为期4周的APA干预后一个月。APA在台湾、中国和欧洲很受欢迎。尽管它的 在美国，APA的使用很少，但支持APA止痛的临床试验数量有限。 这项研究将为全面了解心力衰竭的潜在机制提供重要信息。 APA对CIN的影响，并为将APA作为临床CIN管理的一部分提供强大的推动力。

More than 60% cancer patients experience chemotherapy-induced neuropathy (CIN), a severe side effect of chemotherapy (including platinum drugs, vinca alkaloids, taxanes and/or bortezomib). CIN may cause treatment delays, dose reductions, or discontinuation of therapy which can affect survival rates. With improved cancer treatments and longer survival, the late effects of CIN continue to produce a significant burden in up to 50% of cancer survivors who are suffering from CIN 6 years after treatment, with a 1.8-fold increased risk of falls. CIN continues to cause significant functional disability, negatively impacts quality of life, and significantly demands high health care costs and resource use. We propose to test auricular point acupressure (APA)—a non-invasive and nonpharmacological patient managed strategy—as an innovative solution for CIN. APA is developed from auricular acupuncture, which is an invasive (using needles) and passive treatment (administered by a licensed practitioner). APA is a non-invasive and active treatment for patients with pain. It involves needleless acupuncture-like stimulation of ear points. Small seeds are taped on specific ear points by a skilled provider and patients press on the seeds to stimulate ear points three times daily, three minutes per time, for a total of nine minutes per day to achieve pain relief. APA provides pain relief within 1–2 minutes after ear stimulation and sustains pain relief for one month after a 4-week APA intervention. APA is popular in Taiwan, China, and Europe. Though its use is sparse in the U.S., a limited number of clinical trials have supported APA in pain management. This study will provide vital information to gain a comprehensive understanding of underlying mechanism of APA on CIN and provide strong impetus for including APA as part of CIN management in clinical settings.