Foot Reflexology and Ta-VNS for Symptom Management in Head and Neck Cancer During CCRT

Head and neck cancer (HNC) patients undergoing concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) frequently experience pain, xerostomia, fatigue, sleep disturbance, and other treatment-related toxicities that impair quality of life and treatment adherence, with incomplete relief from current supportive care. This randomized, single-blind, sham-controlled trial evaluates whether foot reflexology (FR), transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (ta-VNS), and auricular acupressure (AA) reduce pain, xerostomia, fatigue, sleep disturbance, and treatment-related symptoms in HNC patients receiving cisplatin-based CCRT, compared with usual care. Participants are randomized to a foot reflexology group, an auricular vagus nerve stimulation group (each with true and sham subgroups), or a usual-care control group, and are followed at baseline and weeks 1, 2, and 4.

NCT Number	NCT07711626
Lead Sponsor	Tzu Chi University Collaborators: Hualien Tzu Chi General Hospital
Conditions	Head and Neck Neoplasms, Xerostomia, Cancer-related Fatigue, Pain
Enrollment	180 participants
Start Date	2026-07-13
Primary Completion	2028-12-31 (estimated)
Study Completion	2028-12-31 (estimated)
Updated on ClinicalTrials.gov	2026-07-24