Although a large percent of the US population reports use of alternative therapies, there is little substantive empirical research examining effectiveness of many alternative modalities, nor is there a clear understanding of putative mechanisms whereby such treatments may have their effects. Healing touch is a therapy classified by NIH as a """"""""biofield"""""""" therapy as its effects are proposed to be secondary to manipulation of hypothesized """"""""energy fields"""""""" around the body of a patient. Although HT is frequently used as a complementary treatment by cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and radiation to reduce toxic side effects of the treatments and to maintain immune competency, effects of this treatment during cancer treatment have not been investigated. Additionally, little is known about physiological mechanisms by which HT may work. This study is designed to examine effects of HT versus standard care on cellular immune function and short-term side effects of treatment among 44 women with advanced cervical cancer receiving a standard protocol of chemotherapy and radiation. Although combined chemotherapy and radiation treatment is potentially curative in 70 percent of cases, many patients experience acute side effects and late radiation effects have also been reported as much as 4 years following treatment. Severe immune compromise has also been reported following intensive radiation. Identification of interventions that could reduce side effects and help maintain resistance in advanced cervical cancer patients undergoing treatment is an important health problem. There are no data on the effects of healing touch on immune function or treatment side effects among cervical cancer patients, or among cancer patients receiving chemotherapy and radiation. Therefore this study is designed as an exploratory study to determine whether such immune effects exist, and if so, whether specific immune parameters associated with cervical cancer are affected. Effects of healing touch on mood and treatment-specific side effects will also be examined. The significance of this study is that it will provide preliminary data on the impact, if any, of HT on various parameters of cellular immune function and whether the magnitude of that impact is large enough to be of sufficient clinical significance to be examined in future trials.
| Hart, Laura K; Freel, Mildred I; Haylock, Pam J et al. (2011) The use of healing touch in integrative oncology. Clin J Oncol Nurs 15:519-25 |
| Lutgendorf, Susan K; Mullen-Houser, Elizabeth; Russell, Daniel et al. (2010) Preservation of immune function in cervical cancer patients during chemoradiation using a novel integrative approach. Brain Behav Immun 24:1231-40 |
