Pharmacological Treatment of Insomnia in Palliative Care

July 14, 2021 updated by: St. Olavs Hospital

Pharmacological Treatment of Insomnia in Palliative Care: A Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo Controlled, Parallel-group, Multicenter Trial Investigating the Short Time Effect of Zopiclone on Self-reported Sleep Quality in Patients With Advanced Cancer Who Use Opioids and Who Report Insomnia

Sleep disturbance is frequent in patients with advanced cancer and decreases the tolerability of other symptoms and impairs quality of life. A detailed description of sleep disturbance and its association with other symptoms, and intervention studies on sleep medications are scarce in patients with advanced cancer. A well-designed randomized controlled trial is needed to determine the short time effectiveness of zopiclone on sleep quality, one of the currently available therapies of insomnia, and further to contribute to the clinical management of insomnia in patients with advanced cancer.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

The clinical trial is a randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled, parallel-group, multicenter trial investigating the short time effectiveness of zopiclone on self-reported sleep quality in patients with advanced cancer who use opioids and who report insomnia. Patients with advanced cancer who use opioids and who report insomnia are randomized to either a hypnotic, zopiclone (Arm A) or placebo (Arm B) for six nights. For this study zopiclone Actavis 3.75 mg, 5 mg and 7.5 mg (active comparator) and placebo are defined as Investigational Medicinal Products. The initial dose is zopiclone/placebo 3.75 mg/day. Evaluation of sleep quality is performed in the morning after night 2 and 4 with evaluation of sleep quality by using a numerical rating scale 0-10 with the question "Please circle the number that best describes how you feel now" 0= Best sleep, 10= Worst possible sleep.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
43

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Phase 4

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Norway
      • Bergen, Norway, 5892
        • Sunniva senter for lindrende behandling, Haraldsplass Diakonale sykehus
      • Levanger, Norway, 7601
        • Sykehuset Levanger
      • Skien, Norway, 3710
        • Helse Sør-Øst RHF, Sykehuset i Telemark,
      • Trondheim, Norway, 7006
        • St. Olavs Hospital
      • Tønsberg, Norway, 3103
        • Helse Sør-Øst RHF, Sykehuset i Vestfold,

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Histologically verified malignant disease
  2. Presence of metastatic / disseminated disease

  3. Presence of insomnia syndrome defined as:

    1. Self-reported difficulty with initiating sleep (greater than 30 minutes to sleep onset) and/or difficulty maintaining sleep (greater than 30 minutes nocturnal waking time); and
    2. Sleep difficulty at least 3 nights per week; and
    3. Sleep difficulty that causes significant impairment of daytime functioning (The patient will be asked if sleep difficulty result in altered daytime function i.e. feeling tired, lack of energy)
  4. Able to comply with all study procedures
  5. Signed informed consent and expected cooperation of the patients for the treatment and follow up must be obtained and documented according to ICH GCP, and national/local regulations.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. On-going treatment or previous treatment (within last 4 weeks) for more than consecutive 3 days with medications given for insomnia
  2. Adverse reactions to zopiclone
  3. History of substance abuse
  4. Concomitant use of rifampicin and erythromycin

  5. Any other contraindication listed on the summary of product characteristics of the investigated medicinal product:

    1. Myasthenia gravis
    2. An established diagnosis of Severe impairment of respiratory function
    3. An established diagnosis of Severe hepatic insufficiency.(Child-Pugh grade B or C)
    4. An established diagnosis of sleep apnea
    5. Known hypersensitivity to the drug or to any component in its formulation: Lactose monohydrate, Calcium hydrogen phosphate, Maize starch, Croscarmellose sodium, Magnesium stearate, Titanium dioxide (E 171), Hypromellose, Iron oxide yellow/Iron oxide red (E 172) and Macrogol
  6. Unfit for participation for any reason as judged by the investigator
  7. Pregnancy or lactation
  8. Women of reproductive age not willing or unable to employ an effective method of contraception (sterilization, using IUD or oral contraception)
  9. Scheduled surgery within the next week
  10. In the need of change in scheduled opioid dose at baseline (study visit 1)
  11. Scheduled intravenous administration of chemotherapy during the study period (from baseline to day 8) or intravenous administration of chemotherapy during the last week
  12. Change in corticosteroid dose last week before baseline or planned dose change in corticosteroid dose within 7 days from baseline

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Triple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Active Comparator: Zopiclone
Zopiclone six nights
Drug: Zopiclone
Placebo Comparator: Placebo
Placebo six nights
Drug: Placebo

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Patient-reported sleep quality
Time Frame: Night six (last study night)
Primary endpoint is patient-reported sleep quality during the final study night (night six) assessed on a numerical rating scale (NRS) 0-10. 0= Best sleep, 10=Worst possible sleep.
Night six (last study night)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Patient reported total sleep time
Time Frame: Night six (last study night)
Night six (last study night)
Patient reported sleep onset latency
Time Frame: Night six (last study night)
Sleep onset latency (how long (minutes) it takes to fall asleep
Night six (last study night)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
St. Olavs Hospital

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Pål Klepstad, St. Olavs Hospital

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
November 15, 2016

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
July 13, 2021

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
July 13, 2021

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
June 17, 2016

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 20, 2016

First Posted (Estimate)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
June 21, 2016

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
July 16, 2021

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
July 14, 2021

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
July 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • SleepRCT_270215
  • 2015-005306-11 (EudraCT Number)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

No

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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