Cancer-related Fatigue During Maintenance Immunotherapy for Non-small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC): a Qualitative Study

August 5, 2026 updated by: Wake Forest University Health Sciences
The purpose of this research is to understand cancer related fatigue in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), who are being treated with an immune checkpoint inhibitor.

Study Overview

Status

Status

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

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

This is an observational pilot study. The target population includes adult patients diagnosed with NSCLC receiving an immune checkpoint inhibitor and reporting concerns of fatigue to their provider. This study will be conducted at Levine Cancer Institute (LCI) and Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center (AHWFBCCC). This study consists of qualitative interviews at two-time points, the primary, and the follow-up. During the primary interview, patients with NSCLC will be asked to complete the PROMIS® Fatigue-Short Form 7a consisting of seven items. During the follow-up interviews, participants will be asked about any change in their fatigue and views on physical activity.

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.
Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

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.
20

Contacts and Locations

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

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • North Carolina
      • Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, 28204
        • Recruiting
        • Atrium Health Levine Cancer
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Dori Beeler, PhD
        • Contact:
      • Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States, 27157
        • Recruiting
        • Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Dori Beeler
        • Contact:

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Adult patients diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) receiving an immune checkpoint inhibitor and reporting concerns of fatigue to their provider.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • ≥ 18 years of age at the time of consent.
  • Must be able to speak, read, and understand English.

  • Participants diagnosed with NSCLC, and:

    • have advanced/metastatic disease who are currently receiving immunotherapy monotherapy, or
    • have locally advanced disease who are currently receiving immunotherapy monotherapy after completing thoracic radiation therapy, or
    • who underwent resection and are currently receiving immunotherapy monotherapy after completing all other perioperative treatment
  • Immunotherapy planned to continue for at least three months after the time of study enrollment (to ensure participant remains on IO long enough to obtain study assessments)
  • Have completed at least two cycles of immunotherapy.
  • Self-reported cancer-related fatigued that impacts daily function.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Participants who have received a dose of chemotherapy (including maintenance pemetrexed) within the past 3 months
  • Participants who have received radiation therapy within the past 3 months. Note: a short course of palliative radiation therapy within up to 20 Gy and up to 5 fractions is permissible.
  • Diagnosis of dementia.
  • Anemia Hgb <10 g/dL.
  • Sarcopenia which is being pharmacologically treated with a prescribed appetite stimulant (e.g., megestrol).
  • Untreated hypothyroidism.
  • Symptomatic heart failure.
  • Oxygen dependent lung disease.
  • Cognitively unable to complete interviews per investigator.

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

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Group / Cohort

A group or subgroup of participants in an observational study that is assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.
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.
Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)
Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients treated with with immune checkpoint inhibitor.
Behavioral: Interviews
Interviews

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
Themes from qualitative interviews with patients
Time Frame: At 3 months
Two semi-structured qualitative interviews will be conducted with 20 patients. Themes will be determined through inductive analysis and will focus on key aspects of symptomatic fatigue, including but not limited to the frequency, duration, and severity of CRF and resulting functional impairments. In addition, history of physical activity before diagnosis, preferences for physical activity to treat CRF, and support needed to adhere to physical activity regimens will be considered. Themes from the first and second interviews will be synthesized to capture changes in fatigue and views on physical activity.
At 3 months

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
Severity and impact of cancer-related fatigue (CRF)
Time Frame: At 3 months
The severity of CRF and its impact on day-to-day function will be measured using the PROMIS® Fatigue-Short Form 7a (F-SF) questionnaire.
At 3 months

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.
Wake Forest University Health Sciences

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.
Atrium Health Levine Cancer Institute

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: Dori Beeler, PhD, Atrium Health Levine Cancer

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.
March 26, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

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.
January 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

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 1, 2027

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).
August 20, 2024

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.
August 20, 2024

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.
August 23, 2024

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.
August 10, 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.
August 5, 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.
August 1, 2026

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.
  • IRB00116521
  • ONC-LUN-2401 (Other Identifier: Atrium Health)

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

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

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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