Effect of nerve electrical stimulation for treating chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting in patients with advanced gastric cancer: A randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND: This randomized controlled trial evaluated the effectiveness of nerve electrical stimulation (NES) for the treatment of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) in patients with advanced gastric cancer (AGC). METHODS: One hundred twenty-four eligible patients with AGC were included in this randomized controlled trial. They were equally divided the NES group and the sham group. The patients in the NES group received NES intervention, while the subjects in the sham group underwent sham NES. The primary outcome included symptoms severity and appetite. The secondary outcomes included quality of life, as measured by the MD Anderson Symptom Inventory (MDASI) score, and functional impairment, as evaluated by the Karnofsky score. Additionally, adverse events were also documented during the period of the treatment. RESULTS: After treatment, NES showed greater effectiveness in reducing the severity of nausea (P = .02), and vomiting (P = .04), as well as the appetite improvement (P = .02), compared with the sham NES. Furthermore, no adverse events related to NES treatment were detected. CONCLUSION: The results of this study demonstrated that NES may help to relieve CINV in patients with AGC. Future studies are still needed to warrant these results.