This study is being done to explore whether acupuncture can improve cognitive difficulties in patients diagnosed with cancer.

Inclusion Criteria:

• English-speaking

• Age 18 ≥ years old

• Diagnosis (breast, colorectal, prostate or gynecological cancer)

• Completed initial cancer treatment (surgery, chemotherapy, and/or radiation therapy) at least one month prior to study enrollment (patients receiving maintenance cancer treatment with hormonal or targeted therapies are permitted)

• Must report moderate or greater perceived CD as indicated by a score of "quite a bit" or "very much" on at least one of the two items that specifically assess concentration (item #20) and memory (item #25) on the EORTC QLQ-C30 instrument (version 3.0)

• Must indicate that their cognitive functions have worsened since their cancer diagnosis by replying "Yes" to all of the following questions:

  • Do you think or feel that your memory or mental ability has gotten worse since your cancer diagnosis?
  • Do you think your mind isn't as sharp now as it was before your cancer diagnosis?
  • Do you feel like these problems have made it harder to function on your job or take care of things around the home?

• Must be willing to adhere to all study-related procedures, including randomization to one of the 2 possible choices: acupuncture or sham acupuncture

Exclusion Criteria:

• Active disease
• Use of acupuncture for cognitive symptom management within the past 3 months
• Diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia, Parkinson disease, or other organic brain disorder
• Score of ≥10 on the Blessed Orientation-Memory-Concentration (BOMC) screening instrument
• Primary psychiatric disorder not in remission
• Initiation or change in medication (e.g., hypnotics, sedatives, and/or antidepressants) in the past 8 weeks

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center supports the international committee of medical journal editors (ICMJE) and the ethical obligation of responsible sharing of data from clinical trials. The protocol summary, a statistical summary, and informed consent form will be made available on clinicaltrials.gov when required as a condition of Federal awards, other agreements supporting the research and/or as otherwise required. Requests for deidentified individual participant data can be made beginning 12 months after publication and for up to 36 months post publication. Deidentified individual participant data reported in the manuscript will be shared under the terms of a Data Use Agreement and may only be used for approved proposals. Requests may be made to: crdatashare@mskcc.org.