Cancer
Conditions
Keywords
fatigue, sleep, quality of life, light, cancer
Brief summary
Cancer-related fatigue is one of the most common and distressing symptoms associated with a cancer diagnosis.Fatigue related to cancer often appears before a diagnosis, worsens during treatment, and lasts for years after treatment in up to 35% of patients. Despite the long-term effects of cancer-related fatigue, the treatment options available are not always appropriate or helpful for all patients.Light therapy is an effective treatment for other disorders related to fatigue. The purpose of the study is to investigate the role of light therapy on quality of life, sleep patterns, and physical measures of immune function and stress hormones in individuals with post-treatment cancer-related fatigue.
Interventions
DEVICEBright white light
DEVICEDim red light
Sponsors
Canadian Cancer Society (CCS)
University of Calgary
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
DOUBLE (Subject, Investigator)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 65 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* English speaking * Non metastatic cancer * At least 3 months post chemotherapy/radiation treatment (hormone treatment ok) * Meets criteria for cancer-related fatigue
Exclusion criteria
* Under 18 years of age * Presence of a sleep disorder other than insomnia or hypersomnia * Shift work * Presence of an Axis-I psychiatric condition * Presence of a medical condition that may impact levels of fatigue * Presence of conditions contraindicated to the use of light therapy or photosensitizing medications * Randomization refusal
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Change in fatigue symptoms from baseline to post-treatment | Baseline, after each treatment week (each week for 4 weeks), and at week 5 |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Change in subjective measures of sleep using sleep diaries from baseline to post-treatment | Baseline (for 7 days), week 5 (for 7 days) |
| Change in Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index scores from baseline to post-treatment | Baseline, week 5 |
| Change in Profile of Mood States scores from baseline to post-treatment | Baseline, week 5 |
| Change in objective measures of sleep using wrist actigraphy from baseline to post-treatment | Baseline (for 7 days), week 5 (for 7 days) |
| Change in salivary cortisol from baseline to post-treatment | Baseline (for 3 days), week 5 (for 3 days) |
| Change in inflammatory cytokines from baseline to post-treatment | Baseline, week 5 |
| Change in Insomnia Severity Index scores from baseline to post-treatment | Baseline, week 3, week 5 |
| Change in Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy (General & Fatigue) scores from baseline to post-treatment | Baseline, week 5 |
Countries
Canada
Outcome results
None listed