Reducing Frailty for Older Cancer Survivors Using Supplements (ReFOCUS1)

April 22, 2026 updated by: Nikesha Gilmore, University of Rochester

Reducing Frailty for Older Cancer Survivors Using Supplements (ReFOCUS): A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial of the Feasibility, Safety, and Preliminary Effects of Epigallocatechin-3-Gallate (EGCG) in Pre-Frail and Frail Older Cancer Survivors

The purpose of the study is to examine the feasibility and safety of twelve weeks oral supplementation of Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) in older survivors of 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.

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.
24

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 2

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

  • United States
    • New York
      • Rochester, New York, United States, 14627
        • University of Rochester

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

65 years and older (Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Be age 65 or over.
  2. Be diagnosed with stage I-III Cancer.
  3. Have completed curative intent treatment ≤10 years prior to screening. (Patients on endocrine therapies are allowed to enroll.)
  4. Have a Fried's Frailty Score (FFS) of ≥ 2.
  5. Able to provide informed consent, or have consent given by patient-designated health care proxy per institutional policies and University of Rochester Cancer Control guidelines.

Exclusion Criteria: Study subjects must not:

  1. Have chemotherapy planned for the during of the study.
  2. Have abnormal liver function tests (ALT, AST and bilirubin ≥3 times institutional upper limit of normal) per most recent available lab test (within 3 months of screening).
  3. Have uncontrolled or unmanaged liver disease.
  4. Consume more than 6 cups of green tea per day.
  5. Have known allergies to caffeine.
  6. Be diagnosed with a major psychiatric illness requiring hospitalization within the last year.
  7. Be diagnosed with dementia.
  8. Cannot provide informed consent due to lack of decision making capacity (as determined by the patient's oncologist) and has no patient-designated health care proxy per institutional policies and University of Rochester Cancer Control URCC guidelines.

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: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

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.
Experimental: Intervention Group
Four 200mg EGCG pills and one 250mg Vitamin C pill taken one time each day
Drug: Epigallocatechin-3-Gallate (EGCG) plus Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C)
800mg Epigallocatechin-3-Gallate (EGCG) plus 250mg Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) taken one time a day for twelve weeks
Other Names:
  • EGCG plus Vitamin C
No Intervention: Usual Care Group
No study pills

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
Recruitment Feasibility: Rates of Consent
Time Frame: Baseline
Recruitment feasibility will be determined by the proportion of participants approached compared to those consented onto the study.
Baseline
Recruitment Feasibility: Rates of Randomization
Time Frame: Baseline
Recruitment feasibility will be determined by the proportion of participants consented compared to those randomized into one of the study arms.
Baseline
The Proportion of Participants That Completed the Study
Time Frame: 12 week
To determine adherence of a two arm randomized clinical trial of EGCG supplementation in older survivors of cancer by determining how many participants completed the study.The number of participants randomized compared to the number of participants that returned for the post intervention visit.
12 week
The Proportion of Participants That Were Adherent to the Intervention
Time Frame: 12 week
To determine adherence of a two arm randomized clinical trial of EGCG supplementation in older survivors of cancer by determining the proportion of participants that were adherent to the intervention (taking >70% of study drug).
12 week
Safety of the EGCG Intervention
Time Frame: 12 weeks
Total (sum) and severity of adverse events (AEs) reported over 12 weeks of being on study graded using CTCAE v5.0 was determined. Participants were called weekly by study coordinator and asked to report concerns including: symptoms, signs, illnesses, or experiences that develop or worsen during the study. These concerns were graded according to the CTCAE v5.0. Number of participants who reported any AEs during the 12 weeks of the study are reported.
12 weeks

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.
University of Rochester

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.
April 28, 2021

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.
August 31, 2023

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.
August 31, 2023

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).
September 4, 2020

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.
September 11, 2020

First Posted (Actual)

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.
September 17, 2020

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.
May 7, 2026

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.
April 22, 2026

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.
April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

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.
  • UCCS20081

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

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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