Determining the feasibility of self-administered relaxing acupressure for fatigue among adolescent and young adult cancer survivors.

Authors

Robert Knoerl, John Jardine, Rashmi Chugh, Leslie A Fecher, N Lynn Henry, Madeline Joquico, Yasmin Karimi, Robert Ploutz-Snyder, Sofia Taylor, Emily Walling, Suzanna Zick

Published in

Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer. Volume 34. Issue 7. Jun 24, 2026. Epub Jun 24, 2026.

Abstract

To determine the feasibility and acceptability of a 6-week, self-administered relaxing acupressure intervention in AYAs with clinically significant cancer-related fatigue (CRF) and explore its preliminary impact on CRF severity compared to sham acupressure.
In this pilot randomized controlled trial, 42 post-treatment AYA cancer survivors (PROMIS Fatigue 4a T-score ≥ 55) at least 3 months post-treatment were recruited from a comprehensive cancer center and social media and randomized 2:1 to relaxing or sham acupressure. Participants stimulated five acupoints daily for 27 min over 6 weeks. PROMIS measures were completed at baseline, 6 weeks, and 10 weeks. Feasibility outcomes included recruitment, retention, fidelity, adherence, and acceptability. Mixed effects linear regression evaluated changes in CRF over time.
Recruitment averaged 3.5 participants/month. Outcome completion was ≥ 69% at baseline, week 6, and week 10. Adherence was variable as 38% of participants completed an average of three or more sessions per week. Fatigue severity significantly decreased from baseline to 6 weeks (control - 8.07, p = 0.0015; acupressure - 10.12, p < 0.0001) and remained improved at 10 weeks in both groups, with no significant between-group differences.
Self-administered acupressure is feasible for AYA cancer survivors. Clinically meaningful fatigue reductions occurred in both groups; however, variable adherence and no between-group differences underscore the need to optimize dose and adherence strategies in a future trial.
Acupressure is a low-cost, self-directed strategy that may help manage CRF. Future research should work to identify the optimal dose and adherence supports to maximize benefit for AYA survivors.
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT06442891, registered June 4, 2024.

PMID:
42337155
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 24 Jun 2026.

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