TRIALS TO TEST ACUPRESSURE wrist bands as a drug-free alternative treatment for nausea caused by chemotherapy will be conducted in the UK by the University of Liverpool in collaboration with the University of Manchester, Salford University, and the University of Plymouth.

Such wrist bands have been shown to reduce the symptoms of travel sickness by applying force to the Nei Kuan pressure point on each wrist. The current study will measure the cost and clinical effectiveness of the acupressure wrist bands in reducing this chemotherapy-related nausea and will include more than 700 patients at nine National Health Service cancer centers.

A wide range of patients undergoing chemotherapy for different types of cancer will be evaluated by a team led by Professor Mari Lloyd-Williams, from the University's Academic Palliative and Supportive Care Studies Group, in an effort to determine which patient groups would realize the most benefit from the device.

Professor Lloyd-Williams said, “Developments in antiemetic drugs – used to combat nausea and vomiting – have decreased the symptoms suffered by chemotherapy patients, but nausea remains a debilitating and poorly controlled symptom.”

Nausea is experienced by >75% of patients who receive chemotherapy.  Most patients rank nausea and vomiting among the most stressful side effects of chemotherapy. According to professor Lloyd-Williams, “In some cases, poorly controlled symptoms can lead to patients choosing to stop potentially curative treatment.” The researchers believe that if the trials are successful, the wrist bands could help patients maintain a good quality of life throughout their therapy with a drug-free treatment.