Trial reportSupportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer2020
Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation for advanced cancer pain inpatients in specialist palliative care-a blinded, randomized, sham-controlled pilot cross-over trial.
Trial report in Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT02655289 (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation), which is not on this map. Cited by 16 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) for Advanced Cancer Pain Patients - A Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Cross-over Pilot Study
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 36 citations in OpenAlex.
- Efficacy of Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation in Management of Cancer Pain: a Meta Analysis.Current pain and headache reports · 2025Pooled it
- Characterising the Features of 381 Clinical Studies Evaluating Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) for Pain Relief: A Secondary Analysis of the Meta-TENS Study to Improve Future Research.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2022Pooled it
- Effects of Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation on Pain and Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy in Cancer Patients: A Systematic Review.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2022Pooled it
- Electrotherapy in Oncology Rehabilitation: Current Evidence, Safety Considerations, and Future Perspectives.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Multimodal Rehabilitation for Advanced Cancer Pain: a Narrative Review of Emerging Nonpharmacological Strategies.Current oncology reports · 2026Review
- Healthcare professionals' experiences of eHealth in palliative care for older people: challenges, compromises and the price of dignity.International journal of qualitative studies on health and well-being · 2024Article
- Pharmacological treatment of cancer pain and opioid induced nausea and vomiting: online survey and comparison with current guidelines.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2024Article
- Exploring the Rules of Related Parameters in Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation for Cancer Pain Based on Data Mining.Pain and therapy · 2023Article
- Reduced Pain and Improved Function Following Short-Term Use of Noninvasive BioWave High Frequency Peripheral Nerve Stimulation for Pain Management.Pain and therapy · 2023Article
- Prevention and Treatment of Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy (CIPN) with Non-Pharmacological Interventions: Clinical Recommendations from a Systematic Scoping Review and an Expert Consensus Process.Medical sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- 'Godrevy Project': virtual reality for symptom control and well-being in oncology and palliative care - a non-randomised pre-post interventional trial.BMJ oncology · 2023Article
- Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) for Opioid-Induced Constipation in Palliative Care: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2023Review
- TENS Improves Cisplatin-Induced Neuropathy in Lung Cancer Patients.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2022Article
- Comparative study of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, the aromatherapy of Lavandula and physiologic delivery without medication on the neonatal and maternal outcome of patients.International journal of physiology, pathophysiology and pharmacology · 2022Article
- Effects of electrical stimulation on skin surface.Acta mechanica Sinica = Li xue xue bao · 2021Review
- Older People's Voices Matter!: Possibilities and Limitations for Providing Dignified Palliative Care with Wearable Devices.Global qualitative nursing researchArticle
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 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeTranscutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is a treatment option for cancer pain, but the evidence is inconclusive. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of TENS.
methodsA blinded, randomized, sham-controlled pilot cross-over trial (NCT02655289) was conducted on an inpatient specialist palliative care ward. We included adult inpatients with cancer pain ≥ 3 on an 11-point numerical rating scale (NRS). Intensity-modulated high TENS (IMT) was compared with placebo TENS (PBT). Patients used both modes according to their preferred application scheme during 24 h with a 24-h washout phase. The primary outcome was change in average pain intensity on the NRS during the preceding 24 h. Responders were patients with at least a "slight improvement."
resultsOf 632 patients screened, 25 were randomized (sequence IMT-PBT = 13 and PBT-IMT = 12). Finally, 11 patients in IMT-PBT and 9 in PBT-IMT completed the study (N = 20). The primary outcome did not differ between groups (IMT minus PBT: - 0.2, 95% confidence interval - 0.9 to 0.6). However, responder rates were higher in IMT (17/20 [85%] vs. 10/20 [50%], p = 0.0428). Two patients experienced an uncomfortable feeling caused by the current, one after IMT and one after PBT. Seven patients (35%) desired a TENS prescription. Women and patients with incident pain were most likely to benefit from TENS.
conclusionTENS was safe, but IMT was unlikely to offer more analgesic effects than PBT. Even though many patients desired a TENS prescription, 50% still reported at least "slight pain relief" from PBT. Differences for gender and incident pain aspects demand future trials.
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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.