Completed

Healing Touch in Advanced Cervical Cancer Patients: Immune Effects and Mechanisms

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What is being tested

Healing Touch Therapy

+ Relaxation Therapy
+ Standard Care
Behavioral
Who is being recruted

Urogenital Diseases
+10

+ Genital Diseases
+ Uterine Cervical Diseases
Over 18 Years
See all eligibility criteria
How is the trial designed

Treatment Study

Placebo-Controlled
Phase 2
Interventional
Study Start: September 2002
See protocol details

Summary

Principal SponsorNational Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)
Last updated: January 18, 2026
Sourced from a government-validated database.Claim as a partner
Study start date: September 1, 2002Actual date on which the first participant was enrolled.

The side effects of chemotherapy and radiation treatment are often severe and can have devastating effects on the mental and physical well-being of cancer patients. This study will determine whether healing touch and relaxation therapy are effective in minimizing the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation treatment in cervical cancer patients. Participants in this study will receive weekly chemotherapy and daily radiation treatments for 6 weeks. Participants will be randomly assigned to receive either standard care (SC), SC plus relaxation therapy, or SC plus healing touch therapy. The relaxation therapy consists of progressive muscle relaxation and guided imagery. The healing touch therapy involves an energy-based modality in which health care practitioners stimulate the energy fields surrounding the patient. A physician-completed assessment and measures of immune function will be used to assess the well-being and overall quality of life of participants.

Official TitleHealing Touch in Advanced Cervical Cancer Patients: Immune Effects and Mechanisms 
NCT00065091NCT00084123P20AT000756-01
Principal SponsorNational Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)
Last updated: January 18, 2026
Sourced from a government-validated database.Claim as a partner

Protocol

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.
Design Details
60 patients to be enrolledTotal number of participants that the clinical trial aims to recruit.
Treatment Study
These studies test new ways to treat a disease, condition, or health issue. The goal is to see if a new drug, therapy, or approach works better or has fewer side effects than existing options.

How participants are assigned to different groups/arms
In this clinical study, participants are placed into groups randomly, like flipping a coin. This ensures that the study is fair and unbiased, making the results more reliable. By assigning participants by chance, researchers can better compare treatments without external influences.

Other Ways to Assign Participants
Non-randomized allocation: Participants are assigned based on specific factors, such as their medical condition or a doctor's decision.
None (Single-arm trial): If the study has only one group, all participants receive the same treatment, and no allocation is needed.

How treatments are given to participants
Participants are divided into different groups, each receiving a specific treatment at the same time. This helps researchers compare how well different treatments work against each other.

Other Ways to Assign Treatments
Single-group assignment: Everyone gets the same treatment.
Cross-over assignment: Participants switch between treatments during the study.
Factorial assignment: Participants receive different combinations of treatments.
Sequential assignment: Participants receive treatments one after another in a specific order, possibly based on individual responses.
Other assignment: Treatment assignment does not follow a standard or predefined design.

How the effectiveness of the treatment is controlled
In a placebo-controlled study, some participants receive the experimental treatment, while others receive an inert substance (placebo) to compare outcomes. This method helps to isolate the effect of the treatment from the psychological effects of receiving any treatment at all.

Other Options
Non-placebo-controlled: No placebo is used. All participants receive the actual treatment or alternative interventions (often the Standard of Care), and comparisons are made between these treatments.

How the interventions assigned to participants is kept confidential
Everyone involved in the study knows which treatment is being given. This is typically used when it's not possible or necessary to hide the treatment details from participants or researchers.

Other Ways to Mask Information
Single-blind: Participants do not know which treatment they are receiving, but researchers do.
Double-blind: Neither participants nor researchers know which treatment is given.
Triple-blind: Participants, researchers, and outcome assessors do not know which treatment is given.
Quadruple-blind: Participants, researchers, outcome assessors, and care providers all do not know which treatment is given.

Eligibility

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria: person's general health condition or prior treatments.
Conditions
Criteria
FemaleBiological sex of participants that are eligible to enroll.
Over 18 YearsRange of ages for which participants are eligible to join.
Healthy volunteers not allowedIf individuals who are healthy and do not have the condition being studied can participate.
Conditions
Pathology
Urogenital Diseases
Genital Diseases
Uterine Cervical Diseases
Uterine Cervical Neoplasms
Female Urogenital Diseases and Pregnancy Complications
Genital Diseases, Female
Genital Neoplasms, Female
Neoplasms
Neoplasms by Site
Urogenital Neoplasms
Uterine Diseases
Uterine Neoplasms
Female Urogenital Diseases
Criteria

Inclusion Criteria: * Stage Ib1-IVa cervical cancer * Treatment with concurrent chemotherapy and radiation at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics Exclusion Criteria: * Immunosuppressive disorders * Use of immunosuppressive medications * Transplant recipient * Metastatic or recurrent cervical cancer * History of any other type of cancer

Study Plan

Find out more about all the medication administered in this study, their detailed description and what they involve.
Treatment Groups
Study Objectives
3 intervention groups 

are designated in this study

33.333% chance 

of being blinded to the placebo group

Treatment Groups
Group I
Experimental
Healing Touch Therapy

Group II
Active Comparator
Relaxation Therapy

Group III
Placebo
Standard Care

Standard Care
Study Objectives
Primary Objectives

Secondary Objectives

Study Centers

These are the hospitals, clinics, or research facilities where the trial is being conducted. You can find the location closest to you and its status.
This study has 1 location
Suspended
University of Iowa Hospital and ClinicsIowa City, United StatesSee the location
CompletedOne Study Center
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