ArticleSpringerPlus2015
Randomized sham controlled trial of cranial microcurrent stimulation for symptoms of depression, anxiety, pain, fatigue and sleep disturbances in women receiving chemotherapy for early-stage breast cancer.
Article in SpringerPlus, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT00902330 (Cranial Stimulation for Chemotherapy Symptoms in Breast Cancer), which is not on this map. Cited by 14 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Cranial Stimulation for Chemotherapy Symptoms in Breast Cancer
Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 29 citations in OpenAlex.
- Efficacy and Tolerability of Cranial Electrotherapy Stimulation in the Treatment of Anxiety: A Systemic Review and Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2022Pooled it
- Effectiveness of TES and rTMS for the Treatment of Insomnia: Meta-Analysis and Meta-Regression of Randomized Sham-Controlled Trials.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2021Pooled it
- Anti-inflammatory effect of combining fish oil and evening primrose oil supplementation on breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy: a randomized placebo-controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2023Trial
- Variations in COMT and NTRK2 Influence Symptom Burden in Women Undergoing Breast Cancer Treatment.Biological research for nursing · 2017Trial
- Cardiovascular Autonomic Dysfunction in Cancer Therapy: Clinical Manifestations and Management.Cardiology research · 2026Review
- Cancer Pain and Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation-A Narrative Review.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2023Review
- Nonpharmacological Interventions for Management of the Pain-Fatigue-Sleep Disturbance Symptom Cluster in Breast Cancer Patients: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Journal of pain research · 2023Review
- Breast reconstruction and quality of life five years after cancer diagnosis: VICAN French National cohort.Breast cancer research and treatment · 2022Article
- Lived Experiences of Iranian Cancer Patients After Survival: A Phenomenological Research.Journal of patient experience · 2019Article
- Observational
- Pilot Study of Metabolomics and Psychoneurological Symptoms in Women With Early Stage Breast Cancer.Biological research for nursing · 2018Article
- Low-Intensity Transcranial Current Stimulation in Psychiatry.The American journal of psychiatry · 2017Review
- Impact of chemotherapy on perceptions related to food intake in women with breast cancer: A prospective study.PloS one · 2017Article
- The relationship of cognitive performance to concurrent symptoms, cancer- and cancer-treatment-related variables in women with early-stage breast cancer: a 2-year longitudinal study.Journal of cancer research and clinical oncology · 2016Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
purposeWomen with breast cancer may experience symptoms of depression, anxiety, pain, fatigue and sleep disturbances during chemotherapy. However, there are few modalities that address multiple, commonly occurring symptoms that may occur in individuals receiving cancer treatment. Cranial electrical stimulation (CES) is a treatment that is FDA cleared for depression, anxiety and insomnia. CES is applied via electrodes placed on the ear that deliver pulsed, low amplitude electrical current to the head.
methodsThis phase III randomized, sham-controlled study aimed to examine the effects of cranial microcurrent stimulation on symptoms of depression, anxiety, pain, fatigue, and sleep disturbances in women receiving chemotherapy for early-stage breast cancer. Patients were randomly assigned to either an actual or sham device and used the device daily for 1 h. The study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov, NCT00902330.
resultsThe sample included N = 167 women with early-stage breast cancer. Symptom severity of depression, anxiety, and fatigue and sleep disturbances were generally mild to moderate. Levels of pain were low. Anxiety was highest prior to the initial chemotherapy and decreased over time. The primary outcome assessment (symptoms of depression, anxiety, fatigue, pain, sleep disturbances) revealed no statistically significant differences between the two groups, actual CES vs. sham.
conclusionIn this study, women receiving chemotherapy for breast cancer experienced multiple symptoms in the mild to moderate range. Although there is no evidence for the routine use of CES during the chemotherapy period for symptom management in women with breast cancer, further symptom management modalities should be evaluated to mitigate symptoms of depression, anxiety, fatigue, pain and sleep disturbances over the course of chemotherapy.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.