ClinicalTrials.gg
RecruitingNCT06769165EMESISUpdated Dec 11, 2025

EMDR Treatment of Conditioned Nausea and Vomiting in Cancer Survivors

An interventional study of EMDR therapy in Cancer Survivors, sponsored by University Medical Center Groningen. Recruiting at 1 site in Netherlands. Open to participants aged 16 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-12-11.

Sponsored by University Medical Center Groningen · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

From the registry’s dates

  • Primary completion was expected by Aug 2026, 3 months ago, but the record still lists the study as recruiting.
  • Started Jul 2025; still recruiting 1 year 4 months later.
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
20
Allocation
Not applicable
Ages
16 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

To explore the effectiveness of EMDR therapy treatment in reducing symptoms of chemotherapy-induced conditioned nausea and vomiting in (former) patients with cancer.

Read the detailed description

Conditioned nausea and vomiting is a common side effect of anti-cancer treatment, and while strategies like antiemetics exist, their effectiveness is limited. Conditioned nausea and vomiting can possibly be addressed through Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy. EMDR therapy is a therapeutic intervention, proven to be effective in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and promising in treating a range of other conditions. At the UMCG, EMDR therapy is used on a small scale to treat conditioned nausea with positive results, although more rigorous research is needed to fully establish its efficacy. This study aims to explore the effectiveness of EMDR therapy treatment in reducing symptoms of chemotherapy-induced conditioned nausea and vomiting in (former) patients with cancer.

02

Conditions studied

  • Cancer Survivors

Browse trials for

Keywords

  • EMDR
  • Nausea
  • Vomiting
03

In context

Nausea

644 studies on the registry are indexed under Nausea; 85 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 20 is below the median of 96 across 544 interventional studies indexed under Nausea.

Browse Nausea studies →

Lead sponsor

University Medical Center Groningen is the lead sponsor of 627 studies on the registry; 176 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
16 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • Previously confirmed diagnosis of cancer
  • Previously treated with systemic cancer therapy
  • Persistent complaints (more than 2 months) of conditioned nausea and/or vomiting
  • Able to understand spoken and written Dutch
  • 18 years or older

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Ongoing psychiatric treatment
  • EMDR therapy (dissociative disorders, personality disorders or severe somatic disorders (e.g. cardiac arrhythmias))
  • Complex type 2 trauma
  • Known with recent conditions / non-anti-cancer medication which can elicit nausea (e.g. pregnancy or alcohol abuses)
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(2)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

Histologically or cytologically confirmed

The diagnosis was confirmed by looking at a sample under a microscope: tissue from a biopsy or surgery (histology), or cells from a fluid or needle sample (cytology).

Your pathology report is the document that shows this.

Contraindication

A reason a treatment, test or procedure should not be given to a particular person, such as an allergy, another illness or a medicine they take.

05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
20 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    EMDR Therapy

    EMDR therapy sessions with a trained psychologist.

    Other: EMDR therapy

Interventions

  • OtherEMDR therapy

    In this study, EMDR therapy will be performed by psychologists of the UMCG who are trained in EMDR therapy and who have experience with patients with somatic diseases. In the EMDR therapy protocol, the patient is guided through eight phases which incorporate dual focus of attention and alternating bilateral visual, auditory, and/or tactile stimulation (see supplement for protocol). The number of sessions varies per patient (1-3 sessions), depending on the desensitization of the conditioned stimuli. The sessions will last 60-90 minutes.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Degree of conditioned nausea and vomiting

    Degree of conditioned nausea and vomiting after exposure to conditioned stimuli using the nausea profile questionnaire measured using the nausea profile questionnaire (9-point Likert scale, higher scores = worse outcome)

    Time frame: Before intake EMDR therapy session and three weeks after last EMDR therapy session

Secondary outcomes

  1. Impact on QoL of conditioned nausea and vomiting

    Impact on QoL of conditioned nausea and vomiting using Functional Living Index- Emesis (FLIE) questionnaire (7-point Likert scale, higher scores = better/worse outcome, depending on the question)

    Time frame: Before EMDR therapy

07

Study locations

1 of 1 sites recruiting
  • University Medical Center Groningen
    Groningen, Provincie Groningen 9713 GZ, Netherlands
    Recruiting
    • Jacco J de Haan, MD, PhD · Contactj.j.de.haan@umcg.nl · +31 50 361 61 61
    • Jacco J de Haan, MD, PhD · Principal investigator
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reachedSimilar studies: half by the dot; the band is the middle halfHalf of similar studies reached it by the dot; the band is the middle half, from a quarter to three quarters

Started Jul 2025 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Aug 2026, 12 months after the start.

Of 120 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Nausea, half reached primary completion within 13 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 6 and three quarters within 28. This study's planned 12 months is close to that.

Counting every sponsor, half of 126 studies reached it within 13 months; a quarter within 5 and three quarters within 28.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Dec 9, 2024
First posted
Jan 10, 2025
StartActual
Jul 2, 2025
Primary completionEst.
Aug 1, 2026
CompletionEst.
Aug 1, 2026
Last update
Dec 11, 2025
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Dec 11, 2025, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT06769165
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Jan 10, 2025
Start date
Jul 2, 2025
Primary completion
Aug 1, 2026 (estimated)
Completion
Aug 1, 2026 (estimated)
Last update
Dec 11, 2025

Study contacts

Jacco J de Haan, MD, PhD
Contact
j.j.de.haan@umcg.nl
+31503616161
Jacco J de Haan, MD, PhD
principal investigator · University Medical Center Groningen

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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