NCT02661308

Reducing Cancer Side-effects With Systematic Light Exposure

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 108 (actual)
• Sponsor: Aarhus University Hospital · Academic / Other
• Sex: Female
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The main purpose of this interdisciplinary proposal is to conduct two randomized controlled trial (RCT) of the efficacy of self-administered systematic light exposure (Bright White Light (BWL)), an innovative, low cost, and low burden intervention to treat cancer-related fatigue. Another common and often overlapping treatment side-effect is cognitive impairment. A secondary outcome of the proposed RCT is, thus, cognitive functioning. Finally, possible underlying chronobiological (circadian activity rhythms, sleep), biological (pro inflammatory markers), and neurophysiological (brain morphology) mechanisms of BWL will be explored.

Detailed description

Two independent but similar RCTs with a total of 144 breast cancer patients (Group 1 = 72 high risk patients; Group 2 = 72 low risk breast cancer patients) post-treatment screened for fatigue will be randomized to BWL (36 in each of the two groups) or dim light(DL) (36 in each of the two groups) exposure for 30 minutes/morning for 4 weeks, and assessed before, during, immediately and 3 months after the intervention. Measures include questionnaires, cognitive assessment, actigraphy, blood samples, saliva samples, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). 1.1 Aims and hypotheses. Aim 1: To test the efficacy of BWL on fatigue (primary outcome) in breast cancer patients. Hypothesis 1: Compared with control participants exposed to DL, participants randomized to BWL will report less fatigue immediately and 3 months after the intervention. Aim 2: To test the efficacy of BWL on cognitive functioning (secondary outcome). Hypothesis 2: Compared with controls, BWL recipients will show improved cognitive functioning immediately and 3 months after the intervention. Aim 3: To explore the effects of BWL on chronobiological, biological, and neurophysiological markers. Hypothesis 3: BWL will be associated with normalized circadian activity rhythms (3a); improved sleep (3b); decreased inflammation (3c); increased cortical and subcortical grey matter density (3d); and increased cortical and subcortical white matter integrity (3e). If hypotheses 1 and/or 2 are confirmed, the mediating effects of the markers will be explored.

Conditions

• Cancer-related Fatigue
• Cancer-related Cognitive Impairment

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DEVICE	Litebook

Timeline

• Start date: 2016-03-01
• Primary completion: 2022-01-01
• Completion: 2022-01-01
• First posted: 2016-01-22
• Last updated: 2024-06-28

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Denmark