Ear acupressure plus dexamethasone to prevent nausea and vomiting during gemcitabine and albumin‑bound paclitaxel treatment for pancreatic cancer

Is this trial a fit for you?

A plain-English reading of the study's rules. Only the study team can confirm whether you qualify.

What this trial studies

This Phase 2 interventional study combines auricular point stimulation (acupressure with bean seeds on specific ear points) with an intravenous dose of dexamethasone given as a preventive antiemetic around cycles of gemcitabine plus albumin‑bound paclitaxel. Participants receive auricular acupressure on one ear in addition to standard dexamethasone and are followed for incidence and severity of nausea and vomiting, appetite changes, gastrointestinal function, and safety. The study also monitors whether this approach reduces the need for multiple antiemetics and lessens drug‑related GI side effects such as constipation, bloating, or diarrhea. Eligible patients are adults with resected or advanced pancreatic cancer who meet performance status and laboratory criteria, while those with local ear infection or bleeding/coagulation problems are excluded.

Why it matters

Who can join: the full rules

Inclusion Criteria: Patients must meet the following inclusion criteria for the study:

* Age ≥ 18 years and ≤ 85 years;
* Patients with pancreatic cancer after radical resection or with advanced pancreatic cancer, who require further chemotherapy with the gemcitabine plus paclitaxel albumin-bound regimen;
* ECOG performance status score of 0-2;
* Normal hematological function (platelet count \> 80×10⁹/L; white blood cell count \> 3×10⁹/L; neutrophil count \> 1.5×10⁹/L);
* Serum bilirubin ≤ 1.5 times the upper limit of normal (ULN), and transaminase ≤ 5 times the ULN;
* No ascites, no gastrointestinal obstruction, normal coagulation function, and serum albumin ≥ 30g/L;
* Child-Pugh classification of liver function is Grade A;
* Serum creatinine \< ULN, or calculated creatinine clearance rate \> 50ml/min.

Exclusion Criteria: Patients who meet any of the following criteria will be excluded from the study:

* Local inflammation or infection of the auricleBleeding tendency or coagulation disorders;
* Severe ascites;
* Gastrointestinal obstruction;
* Hypertensive crisis or hypertensive encephalopathy;
* Severe uncontrolled systemic complications such as infection or diabetes mellitus;
* Clinically severe cardiovascular diseases, including cerebrovascular accident (within 6 months before enrollment), myocardial infarction (within 6 months before enrollment), hypertension that is not well-controlled despite appropriate medication, unstable angina pectoris, congestive heart failure (NYHA Class 2-4), and cardiac arrhythmias requiring drug treatment;
* A history of or physical examination findings indicating central nervous system diseases (e.g., primary brain tumor, epilepsy uncontrolled by standard treatment, any history of brain metastasis or stroke);
* Hypersensitivity to any drugs used in the study;
* Pregnant or lactating women;
* Presence of any other diseases, functional impairment caused by metastatic lesions, or suspicious disorders identified during physical examination, which suggest contraindications to the study drugs or place the patient at high risk of treatment-related complications;
* Inability or unwillingness to comply with the study protocol.

Where it's running

• Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine
  Hangzhou, China Recruiting

Study contacts

• Study coordinator: Juan Wang
• Email: wangjuan.happy@hotmail.com
• Phone: 8617816190946

Similar studies

Other studies for the same condition or treatment. Recruiting studies are listed first.

• Auricular point stimulation with dexamethasone vs standard antiemetics for chemo-induced nausea in pancreatic cancer

  This study tests whether adding ear acupuncture-style stimulation to dexamethasone can prevent and reduce nausea and vomiting caused by gemcitabine plus paclitaxel in pancreatic cancer patients, compared with the usual antiemetic drugs.

  Recruiting Phase 3 Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University, School of Medicine · Hangzhou · NCT07716228

• Auricular Point Stimulation With Dexamethasone vs Standard Anti-nausea Medications for Docetaxel‑Cyclophosphamide Therapy

  This study tests whether adding ear acupuncture-like stimulation to dexamethasone can match or be as effective as standard antiemetic drugs for preventing nausea and vomiting in people receiving the docetaxel–cyclophosphamide chemotherapy.

  Recruiting Phase 3 Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University, School of Medicine · Hangzhou · NCT07716176

• Ear acupressure plus dexamethasone to prevent chemo nausea from docetaxel and cyclophosphamide

  This trial will test whether ear acupressure (auricular point stimulation) combined with dexamethasone can prevent or reduce nausea and vomiting in adults receiving docetaxel plus cyclophosphamide after breast cancer surgery.

  Recruiting Phase 2 Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University, School of Medicine · Hangzhou · NCT07537699

• Auricular point stimulation with dexamethasone versus standard antiemetics for nausea from trastuzumab deruxtecan

  This trial tests whether adding ear acupuncture-style stimulation to dexamethasone can prevent and reduce nausea and vomiting caused by trastuzumab deruxtecan in breast cancer patients, compared with the usual antiemetic regimen.

  Recruiting Phase 3 Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University, School of Medicine · Hangzhou · NCT07716189

• Ear acupressure plus dexamethasone to prevent nausea and vomiting from trastuzumab deruxtecan

  This trial will try ear acupressure combined with a standard dose of dexamethasone to prevent or reduce nausea and vomiting in breast cancer patients receiving trastuzumab deruxtecan.

  Recruiting Phase 2 Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University, School of Medicine · Hangzhou · NCT07537673

• Fosaprepitant plus palonosetron with dexamethasone (± olanzapine) to prevent nausea from multi-day highly emetogenic chemotherapy

  This trial tests whether giving fosaprepitant and palonosetron with dexamethasone, with or without olanzapine, can prevent nausea and vomiting in adults starting multi-day highly emetogenic chemotherapy.

  Recruiting Phase 4 Shanghai 6th People's Hospital · Shanghai, Shanghai Municipality · NCT07482891

How to take part

1. Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
2. Check the official listing on ClinicalTrials.gov for the latest contact details and recruitment status.
3. Contact the study coordinator or principal investigator to ask for pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.