Identification of Changes in Cancer-related Fatigue and Physical Activity and Their Association in Patients With Inoperable Lung Cancer: a Longitudinal Observational Study

Trial statusRecruiting
Trial phaseNot listed
Trial typeObservational
Biological sexAll
Age18+
SponsorUniversity Hospital, Ghent

About this trial

The goal of this observational study is to learn how fatigue changes during lung cancer treatment and how it relates to physical activity levels in adults with locally advanced, inoperable, or metastatic lung cancer who are starting chemotherapy and/or immunotherapy. The main questions to answer are:

* How do fatigue and physical activity levels change throughout lung cancer treatment? * How are changes in fatigue related to physical activity levels on the short- and long term?

Participants will:

* Complete questionnaires on fatigue, breathlessness, sleep quality, quality of life, stress, anxiety and depression at multiple time points. * Wear activity monitors during four measurement periods to assess daily physical activity. * Complete brief daily smartphone questionnaires on fatigue, breathlessness, pain, and perceived ability to walk. * Wear a smartwatch throughout the study. * Undergo physical assessments, including a 1-minute sit-to-stand test, a thigh muscle strength test, and a frailty assessment. * Attend six study visits over the course of the study, some of which may be scheduled alongside routine hospital appointments.

Eligibility criteria

This trial does not accept healthy volunteers

Qualifiers

Locally advanced irresectable or metastatic lung cancer (all histologies including NSCLC and SCLC).

≥18 years.

ECOG performance status of ≤2 (a lower score indicates a higher performance status), assessed by the clinician (10).

Planned to start a first-line systemic treatment consisting of chemotherapy and/or immunotherapy. Patients who receive radiotherapy, concurrently or sequentially, within a multimodality treatment approach for locally advanced lung cancer are allowed.

Disqualifiers

Being planned for primary radiotherapy with radical intent only or treatment with targeted therapies (mostly tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI's)).

Having complicated or unstable bone metastases (as judged by the clinician).

Unstable heart disease, including unstable congestive heart failure, arrythmia, or myocardial infarction diagnosed within the last 3 months.

Other malignancies in the last 2 years (except for adequately treated basal cell, superficial or in situ cancer of the bladder or the cervix).

Trial population

This study will include patients with locally advanced irresectable or metastatic lung cancer, who are planned to undergo systemic treatment (chemotherapy and/or immunotherapy).

Trial design

Design model

Cohort

Time perspective

Prospective

Treatments tested in this trial

Not listed

Trial groups

No trial groups listed

Trial outcomes

Primary outcomes

1

Cancer-related fatigue (FACIT-F)

Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) will be measured using the FACIT-F and EMA. The Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue (FACIT-F) is a 13-item questionnaire with each item answered on a 5-point rating scale, which has been validated and frequently used in cancer populations. The questionnaire is based on a 7-day recall period. Scores range between 0 and 52, where higher scores represent lower fatigue levels. The minimum important difference for the FACIT-F is between 3 to 4 points.

Time frame
From enrollment until 4 weeks after the end of treatment
2

Cancer-related fatigue (EMA)

Regarding EMA, patients will install the m-path application on their smartphone. Patients will be asked to fill in 3 prompts per day for 15 (M1 and M2) or 8 (M3 and M4) consecutive days, answering questions about fatigue ("I feel fatigued right now" from 1 (not at all) to 7 (very)). The 3 prompts will be sent at a random time within 3 blocks per day (between 8h and 10h, between 12h and 14h, and between 18h and 20h). Prompts will be available for 30 minutes and a reminder will be sent after 15 minutes. Daily symptom rating will be calculated by taking the average of the 3 prompts and will be used for further analyses.

Time frame
From enrollment until 4 weeks after the end of treatment
3

Physical activity

Physical activity (PA) will be measured during one or two week(s) (depending on the treatment phase) using an Actigraph GT3X and Dynaport Movemonitor+, both validated accelerometers. Following recommendations on wear location, participants will be asked to wear the devices at the waist (on the same belt) during daytime and switch the Actigraph GT3X to the non-dominant wrist during the night (to measure sleep duration). Valid PA data is considered when a patient has at least 8 hours wear time during waking hours. The average daily step count (based on Dynaport Movemonitor+) and minutes of MVPA (based on Actigraph GTX3) per day of all valid days are the PA outcomes.

Time frame
From enrollment until 4 weeks after the end of treatment

Secondary outcomes

1

Symptoms of Dyspnea

Symptoms of dyspnea occurring during daily life activities will be assessed through the Chronic Respiratory Disease Questionnaire Self-Administered Standardized (CRQ-SAS).

Time frame
From enrollment until 4 weeks after the end of treatment
2

Quality of Life (general)

The European organization for the Research and Treatment of Cancer Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30) is a clinically valid and useful tool for assessing quality of life in lung cancer patients.

Time frame
From enrollment until 4 weeks after the end of treatment
3

Quality of Life (lung cancer specific)

The European organization for the Research and Treatment of Cancer Questionnaire - lung cancer module (EORTC QLQ-LC13) is a clinically valid and useful tool for assessing quality of life, specifically for lung cancer patients.

Time frame
From enrollment until 4 weeks after the end of treatment
4

Symptoms of stress, anxiety and depression

The Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21) has been developed as a single screening tool to measure comorbid depression, anxiety, and stress disorders in healthy individuals and represent a psychometrically viable option for health systems and clinicians when assessing distress in cancer patients.

Time frame
From enrollment until 4 weeks after the end of treatment

Other outcomes

1

Occurence of (re)hospitalization, all-cause mortality and cancer-related mortality

The occurrence of (re)hospitalization, all-cause mortality and cancer-related mortality in the year after the start of the study will be reported.

Time frame
From enrollment until 1 year after the start of the study

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