PRIMARY OBJECTIVE:
I. To determine if initiation of in-person acupuncture or virtual acupressure sessions within 2 weeks of starting aromatase inhibitors (AI) will reduce the severity and incidence of AI-associated arthralgias (AIAA) among non-Hispanic Black postmenopausal women with stage I-III hormone receptor-positive/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative breast cancer at 6 months after starting adjuvant AI therapy.
SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:
I. To compare the efficacy of acupuncture to the efficacy of acupressure among the study population.
II. To determine if acupuncture or acupressure will increase AI adherence (secondary endpoint) among the study population at 6 months after starting adjuvant AI therapy.
III. To evaluate the acceptance, satisfaction, convenience, accessibility, and perceptions of in-person acupuncture and virtual acupressure.
IV. To conduct 4 focus groups of 6-12 non-Hispanic Black women who receive 12 weeks of acupuncture or acupressure and collect and analyze qualitative data about barriers and facilitators to completing each intervention, transportation concerns, and ease or difficulty of completing each intervention.
OUTLINE: Patients are randomized to 1 of 3 arms.
ARM I: Patients undergo acupuncture therapy in-person over 1 hour twice weekly for the first 6 weeks and then once weekly for 6 weeks and receive standard of care (SOC) AI therapy.
ARM II: Patients undergo self-administered acupressure therapy virtually over 1 hour twice weekly for the first 6 weeks and then once weekly for 6 weeks and receive SOC AI therapy.
ARM III: Patients receive SOC AI therapy.
After completion of study intervention, patients are followed up for 12 months or until the initiation of new antineoplastic or investigational therapy, whichever occurs first.
