Fatigue in Breast Cancer: A Behavioral Sleep Intervention

Fatigue in Breast Cancer:A Behavioral Sleep Intervention

1. This randomized clinical trial compares a four component behavioral sleep intervention group to an attention control healthy eating group
2. The behavioral sleep intervention is designed to reduce fatigue in women with stages I-IIIA breast cancer receiving anthracycline-based chemotherapy
3. The intervention uses an Individual Sleep Promotion Plan to promote daytime activity and nighttime sleep,and to decrease physchological and symptom distress
4. The healthy eating group receives equal time and attention and information on healthy eating
5. All participants receive a research nurse visit 2 days prior to each chemotherapy treatment, and 30, 60, 90 days after the last treatment, and one-year after the first treatment.
6. Adherence to the intervention is calculated at each time
7. Reliable and valid instruments are used, including wrist actigraphy

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Breast Cancer
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Individual Sleep Promotion Plan; Behavioral: Healthy Eating Control

Detailed Description

Higher fatigue levels are found in women with stage I, II or IIIA breast cancer receiving adjuvant chemotherapy (CT) who adopt patterns of daytime inactivity and nighttime restlessness and have more symptom and psychological distress. Interventions that improve sleep quality and reduce daytime fatigue in persons with insomnia may also benefit women receiving adjuvant CT. Using selected factors from Piper's Integrated Fatigue Model (IFM), a randomized, controlled clinical trial will compare women with breast cancer who receive a four component behavioral sleep intervention to women in the attentional control group during and after adjuvant CT. The intervention is designed to reduce fatigue in these women by promoting daytime activity, improving sleep quality and decreasing symptom and psychological distress. The aims of this study are to: 1) Compare the immediate (sleep/wake, activity/exercise, symptoms, psychological distress) and consequent (fatigue) outcomes of women who receive a four component behavioral sleep intervention (sleep hygiene counseling, relaxation therapy, sleep restriction and stimulus control) (n=110) with the outcomes in the healthy eating group (n=110) in women with stage I, II or IIIA breast cancer during 4 or 8 cycles of adjuvant chemotherapy, at 30, 60 and 90 days after their last treatment, and 1 year after their first treatment; 2) Determine the extent to which factors selected from the IFM influence fatigue intensity levels a) in the total sample at baseline and b) differentially influence fatigue intensity levels between groups 30 days after the last chemotherapy treatment and 1 year after the first treatment and 3) Evaluate the adherence to the refined behavioral sleep intervention and preferences for sleep hygiene and relaxation therapy techniques in the experimental group over time. Women will be randomized on the basis of good or poor sleeping history and intent to treat (4 versus 8 cycles of CT) to the intervention or attentional control group. Using the co-scientist model, the sleep intervention group will follow an Individual Sleep Promotion Plan negotiated with the investigator with regularly scheduled reinforcements and revisions. The healthy eating group will receive equal time and attention regarding general topics and nutrition. Established instruments include the Piper Fatigue Scale, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, SF-36 Health Survey, Symptom Experience Scale, Daily Diary and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Objective measures include wrist actigraph, hemoglobin/ hematocrit, white blood count, T4 & TSH, and body mass index and a C - reactive protein at 1 year. Statistical analyses include RM-ANOVA, generalized estimation equation methodology and multiple regression analysis. Results may inform development of clinical guidelines for fatigue management during adjuvant CT.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 220
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Nebraska
    • Omaha, Nebraska, United States, 68198
      • University of Nebraska Medical Center

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 19 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Ages 19 and older
• Diagnosed for the first time with stage I-IIIA breast cancer
• Post-operative for breast cancer
• Scheduled to receive anthracycline-based adjuvant chemotherapy with our without taxane chemotherapy
• English speaking
• Karnofsky performance Scale score equal to or greater than 60

Exclusion Criteria:

• Comorbid diagnosis of chronic insomnia
• Sleep apnea or chronic fatigue syndrome
• Unstable congestive heart failure
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
• Insulin-depenent diabetes
• Neruomuscular disease
• Abnormal thryoid function
• Depression, or
• Treatment with steriods
• Erratic sleep schedule due to working rotating shifts

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: 1 Individual Sleep Promotion Plan; Four component behavioral sleep intervention comprised of activity-rest, sleep-wake, psychological distress and symptom management. Four components of the Individual Sleep Promotion Plan are: stimulus control, sleep restruction, relaxation, and sleep hygiene.	Behavioral: Individual Sleep Promotion Plan; Four components, including activity-rest, sleep-wake, psychological distress, and symptom management. Sleep-wake component has four strategies: stimulus control, sleep restriction, relaxation, and sleep hygiene
Placebo Comparator: 2 Healthy Eating Control; Equal time and attention, information about healthy eating and general conversation	Behavioral: Healthy Eating Control; Equal time and attention and information about healthy eating

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Fatigue	Fatigue as measured by Piper Fatigue Scale	1 year

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Activity-rest as measured by SF-36v2 and actigraphy	Activity-rest as measured by SF-36v2 and actigraphy	1 year
Sleep-wake	Sleep-wake as measured by Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and actigraphy	1 year
Psychological mood	Psychological mood as measured by Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale	1 year
Symptom experience	Symptom experience as measured by Symptom Experience Scale	1 year

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Nebraska
• Collaborators: National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Ann M Berger, PhD, University of Nebraska

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Berger AM, Farr LA, Kuhn BR, Fischer P, Agrawal S. Values of sleep/wake, activity/rest, circadian rhythms, and fatigue prior to adjuvant breast cancer chemotherapy. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2007 Apr;33(4):398-409. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2006.09.022.
• Berger AM, Neumark DE, Chamberlain J. Enhancing recruitment and retention in randomized clinical trials of cancer symptom management. Oncol Nurs Forum. 2007 Mar;34(2):E17-22. doi: 10.1188/07.ONF.E17-E22.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): April 1, 2003
• Study Completion (Actual): June 1, 2006

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: December 11, 2007
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 12, 2007
• First Posted (Estimated): December 13, 2007

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): August 31, 2023
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 28, 2023
• Last Verified: August 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: fatigue; symptom management; psychological distress; activity-rest; sleep-wake
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Skin Diseases; Neoplasms; Neoplasms by Site; Breast Diseases; Breast Neoplasms; Fatigue
• Other Study ID Numbers: 0140-02-FB; 5R01NR007762-05 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)