Virtual Environments in Patients Receiving Treatment for Cancer (VE)

July 17, 2020 updated by: Dr. Andreas Charalambous, Cyprus University of Technology

The Effectiveness of Virtual Environment on the Adverse Psychological Effects in Patients Receiving Treatment for Cancer

The mood disturbances that lung cancer patients experience during and after chemotherapy have a debilitating effect on their quality of life. The goal of the proposed project is to develop and test an intervention that relies on the use of immersive Virtual Reality (VR) to combat the adverse psychological/emotional consequences of receiving treatment for cancer. Although VR has been used with success to treat various psychological conditions (e.g., phobias, PTSD), its potential in helping cancer patients experience an improved mood and hence better quality of life has not yet been tested. In this project the investigators will first develop the virtual content (e.g., natural scenes) that patients will experience within a Head-Mounted-Display, simulating movement by manipulating a gesture controller. The investigators will then carry out a randomized, double blind, crossover trial with 50 hospitalized cancer patients to test whether they can benefit psychologically and emotionally from their interaction with an immersive environment compared to those who will experience a guided imagery intervention. A positive result will open the route for the future development of affordable self-administered VR solutions for treating the psychological side-effects of cancer treatment.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Although VR has been used with success to treat various psychological conditions (e.g., phobias, PTSD), its potential in helping cancer patients experience an improved mood and hence better quality of life has not yet been tested. In this project the investigators will first develop the virtual content (e.g., natural scenes) that patients will experience within a Head-Mounted-Display, simulating movement by manipulating a gesture controller. The investigators will then carry out a randomized, double blind, crossover trial with 50 hospitalized cancer patients to test whether they can benefit psychologically and emotionally from their interaction with an immersive environment compared to those who will experience a guided imagery intervention. A positive result will open the route for the future development of affordable self-administered VR solutions for treating the psychological side-effects of cancer treatment.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

50

Phase

  • Not Applicable

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

  • Cyprus
      • Nicosia, Cyprus, 2047
        • American Medical Centre

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

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients will be included if they had a histopathological diagnosis of cancer (different types are allowed)
  • were 18 years or older, on active treatment and were receiving care at the hospital as inpatients
  • Eligible participants will need to be able to speak and understand Greek and they had given written informed consent
  • Participants should also have a score of >60 on the POMS total mood disturbance scale, a >50 on the Karnofsky Performance Scale Index
  • a mean of >50 on the Attentional Function Index (AFI)

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients were excluded if they were receiving palliative care
  • they had an impaired cognitive ability or
  • they had an impaired visual ability

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: Crossover Assignment
  • Masking: Triple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Intervention VE
Session of Immersive Virtual Reality (VR) and Session of Guided Imagery
Behavioral: Immersive Virtual Reality (VR)
Patients in this group will experience the virtual content (e.g., natural scenes) through a Head-Mounted-Display, simulating movement by manipulating a gesture controller. Following a resting period the patients will then experience the guided imagery session (e.g. visual images of pleasant scenery)
Behavioral: Guided Imagery
Patients in this group will experience the guided imagery (e.g. visual images of pleasant scenery). Following a resting period the patients will then experience the virtual content (e.g., natural scenes) through a Head-Mounted-Display, simulating movement by manipulating a gesture controller
Active Comparator: Intervention GI
Session of Immersive Virtual Reality (VR) and Session of Guided Imagery
Behavioral: Immersive Virtual Reality (VR)
Patients in this group will experience the virtual content (e.g., natural scenes) through a Head-Mounted-Display, simulating movement by manipulating a gesture controller. Following a resting period the patients will then experience the guided imagery session (e.g. visual images of pleasant scenery)
Behavioral: Guided Imagery
Patients in this group will experience the guided imagery (e.g. visual images of pleasant scenery). Following a resting period the patients will then experience the virtual content (e.g., natural scenes) through a Head-Mounted-Display, simulating movement by manipulating a gesture controller

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Changes in Mood Disturbances as measured by the POMS
Time Frame: Baseline and then participants will be followed for the duration of the intervention, an expected average of 8 days
The POMS total mood disturbance comprises subscales that evaluate anxiety, depression, anger, vigor, fatigue, and confusion. The possible range of scores for the TMDS is -40 through 192 with higher scores indicating greater mood. Lower scores indicate an improvement in mood
Baseline and then participants will be followed for the duration of the intervention, an expected average of 8 days

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Changes in Quality of Life as measured by FACT-G
Time Frame: Baseline and then participants will be followed for the duration of the intervention, an expected average of 8 days
FACT-G, is a self-report instrument consisting of 27-items
Baseline and then participants will be followed for the duration of the intervention, an expected average of 8 days
Changes in Blood Pressure
Time Frame: Baseline and then participants will be followed for the duration of the intervention, an expected average of 8 days
Measurement of Blood Pressure
Baseline and then participants will be followed for the duration of the intervention, an expected average of 8 days
Changes in Heart Rate
Time Frame: Baseline and then participants will be followed for the duration of the intervention, an expected average of 8 days
Measurement of Heart Rate
Baseline and then participants will be followed for the duration of the intervention, an expected average of 8 days

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Cyprus University of Technology

Collaborators

University of Cyprus

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Andreas Charalambous, andreas.charalambous@cut.ac.cy

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)

February 5, 2018

Primary Completion (Actual)

January 1, 2020

Study Completion (Actual)

January 20, 2020

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 6, 2015

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 13, 2015

First Posted (Estimate)

March 19, 2015

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

July 20, 2020

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 17, 2020

Last Verified

July 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • AC-VES-91

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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