Physical Activity and Dexamethasone in Reducing Cancer-Related Fatigue in Patients With Advanced Cancer

Effects of Physical Activity Plus Short Course of Dexamethasone for Cancer-Related Fatigue in Advanced Cancer

This randomized phase II trial studies how well physical activity and dexamethasone work in reducing cancer-related fatigue in patients with cancer that has spread to other places in the body and usually cannot be cured or controlled with treatment (advanced). Dexamethasone is approved for the treatment of tiredness, pain, and nausea. Physical activity may help improve cancer-related fatigue by improvement in symptoms, distress, and overall well-being. It is not yet known whether high dose or low dose dexamethasone combined with physical activity works better in reducing fatigue in patients with advanced cancer.

Study Overview

• Status: Active, not recruiting
• Conditions: Fatigue; Metastatic Malignant Neoplasm; Advanced Malignant Neoplasm; Recurrent Malignant Neoplasm; Refractory Malignant Neoplasm
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Laboratory Biomarker Analysis; Other: Quality-of-Life Assessment; Other: Questionnaire Administration; Drug: Dexamethasone; Behavioral: Exercise Intervention

Detailed Description

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:

1. To determine the feasibility, adherence, and satisfaction with physical activity (PA) plus dexamethasone (PA+ DEX).

SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:

I. To explore the preliminary efficacy of PA+ Hi Dex group (PA for 4 weeks plus high dose dexamethasone for 1 week) and PA + Lo Dex groups (PA for 4 weeks plus low dose dexamethasone for 1 week) on cancer-related fatigue (CRF) as measured by Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue (FACIT-F) at the end of one week.

II. To explore the effects of PA+ Hi Dex on the various dimensions of CRF (Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System-Fatigue [PROMIS-F]), i.e., affective/emotional (Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale [HADS]); physical/behavioral (the Multidimensional Fatigue Symptom Inventory-Short Form [MFSI-SF], Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index), physical activity and function (30 second sit-to stand test, six minute walk test) before and after treatment.

OUTLINE: Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 arms.

ARM I: Patients receive high-dose dexamethasone orally (PO) twice daily (BID) for 7 days. Patients also follow a graded resistance exercise program 3 days a week and a walking regimen at least 5 days a week for 4 weeks. The frequency, duration, and intensity of the exercises will be evaluated and adjusted as necessary.

ARM II: Patients receive low-dose dexamethasone PO BID for 7 days. Patients also follow a graded resistance exercise program 3 days a week and a walking regimen at least 5 days a week for 4 weeks. The frequency, duration, and intensity of the exercises will be evaluated and adjusted as necessary.

After completion of study, patients are followed up at day 29 and again after 1 month.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 90
• Phase: Phase 2; Phase 3

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Texas
    • Houston, Texas, United States, 77030
      • M D Anderson Cancer Center

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• A diagnosis of advanced cancer (defined as metastatic or recurrent) with fatigue >= 4/10 (0-10 scale) on the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS)
• The presence of fatigue for at least 2 weeks
• Normal cognition
• Hemoglobin > 8 g/L within 1 week of enrollment in the study
• A life expectancy of >= 4 months
• No evidence of significant anxiety or depression as determined by a total HADS scores of < 21
• Definition of advanced cancer includes those patients who have metastatic or refractory disease according to their treating oncologist
• Patients must be able to understand, read, write, and speak English or Spanish

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients with a history of hypersensitivity to dexamethasone or having any contraindication to physical activity as determined by the treating physician
• Reports a fall in the past 30 days
• Uncontrolled diabetes mellitus as defined by a random blood sugar of > 200 mg/dl not being monitored by their primary care physician
• Sepsis and/or acute, chronic, or ongoing infections that are currently being treated with systemic antimicrobials
• Will exclude patients with current, active peptic ulcer disease
• Neutropenia as defined by an absolute neutrophil count (ANC) of < 1000 cells/mm
• Regular participation in moderate- or vigorous-intensity physical activity for >= 30 minutes at least 5 times a week and strength training for >= 2 days
• Severe cardiac disease (New York Heart Association functional class III or IV) or coronary artery disease

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Double

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Arm I (high-dose dexamethasone, physical activity); Patients receive high-dose dexamethasone PO BID for 7 days. Patients also follow a graded resistance exercise program 3 days a week and a walking regimen at least 5 days a week for 4 weeks. The frequency, duration, and intensity of the exercises will be evaluated and adjusted as necessary.	Other: Laboratory Biomarker Analysis; Correlative studies; Other: Quality-of-Life Assessment; Ancillary studies; Other Names: Quality of Life Assessment; Other: Questionnaire Administration; Ancillary studies; Drug: Dexamethasone; Given PO; Other Names: Decadron; Aacidexam; Adexone; Aknichthol Dexa; Alba-Dex; Alin; Alin Depot; Alin Oftalmico; Amplidermis; Anemul mono; Auricularum; Auxiloson; Baycuten; Baycuten N; Cortidexason; Cortisumman; Decacort; Decadrol; Decalix; Decameth; Decasone R.p.; Dectancyl; Dekacort; Deltafluorene; Deronil; Desamethasone; Desameton; Dexa-Mamallet; Dexa-Rhinosan; Dexa-Scheroson; Dexa-sine; Dexacortal; Dexacortin; Dexafarma; Dexafluorene; Dexalocal; Dexamecortin; Dexameth; Dexamethasonum; Dexamonozon; Dexapos; Dexinoral; Dexone; Dinormon; Fluorodelta; Fortecortin; Gammacorten; Hexadecadrol; Hexadrol; Lokalison-F; Loverine; Methylfluorprednisolone; Millicorten; Mymethasone; Orgadrone; Spersadex; Visumetazone; Behavioral: Exercise Intervention; Complete a graded resistance exercise program and a walking regimen
Experimental: Arm II (low dose dexamethasone, physical activity); Patients receive low-dose dexamethasone PO BID for 7 days. Patients also follow a graded resistance exercise program 3 days a week and a walking regimen at least 5 days a week for 4 weeks. The frequency, duration, and intensity of the exercises will be evaluated and adjusted as necessary.	Other: Laboratory Biomarker Analysis; Correlative studies; Other: Quality-of-Life Assessment; Ancillary studies; Other Names: Quality of Life Assessment; Other: Questionnaire Administration; Ancillary studies; Drug: Dexamethasone; Given PO; Other Names: Decadron; Aacidexam; Adexone; Aknichthol Dexa; Alba-Dex; Alin; Alin Depot; Alin Oftalmico; Amplidermis; Anemul mono; Auricularum; Auxiloson; Baycuten; Baycuten N; Cortidexason; Cortisumman; Decacort; Decadrol; Decalix; Decameth; Decasone R.p.; Dectancyl; Dekacort; Deltafluorene; Deronil; Desamethasone; Desameton; Dexa-Mamallet; Dexa-Rhinosan; Dexa-Scheroson; Dexa-sine; Dexacortal; Dexacortin; Dexafarma; Dexafluorene; Dexalocal; Dexamecortin; Dexameth; Dexamethasonum; Dexamonozon; Dexapos; Dexinoral; Dexone; Dinormon; Fluorodelta; Fortecortin; Gammacorten; Hexadecadrol; Hexadrol; Lokalison-F; Loverine; Methylfluorprednisolone; Millicorten; Mymethasone; Orgadrone; Spersadex; Visumetazone; Behavioral: Exercise Intervention; Complete a graded resistance exercise program and a walking regimen

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue (FACIT-F) Levels at Day 8 and Day 29	FACIT-F (Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue) subscale is a 13 item subscale of FACT-G that allows patient to rate the intensity of their fatigue and its related symptoms on a scale of 0 (not at all) to 4 (very much). The total calculated score varied from 0-52 with a lower score indicating a more severe fatigue level. We measured the change in FACIT-F levels between Baseline and Day 8, and between Baseline and Day 29 using Wilcoxon signed rank test.	Baseline, day 8, day 29

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Patient Reported Outcome Measurement Information System-Fatigue (PROMIS-F) Total	The PROMIS-F (Patient Reported Outcome Measurement Information System-Fatigue) short form was used to measure the experience of fatigue in patients' daily activities over the past week. It consists of 7 items with response options on a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (always). We measured the change in PROMIS-F score between Baseline and Day 8, and between Baseline and Day 29 using Wilcoxon signed rank test. The total score is used in the analysis and is obtained by summing keyed scores of all items. Scores can range from 7 to 35, with higher scores indicating greater fatigue.	Baseline, day 8, day 29
Change in Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS) Fatigue	ESAS (Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale) is a validated scale ranging from 0 (not at all) to 10 (very much) used to assess 10 symptoms commonly experienced by cancer patients during the previous 24 hours: pain, fatigue, nausea, depression, anxiety, drowsiness, dyspnea, anorexia, sleep and feeling of wellbeing. We measured the change in ESAS fatigue score between Baseline and Day 8, and between Baseline and Day 29 using Wilcoxon signed rank test. Total ESAS fatigue score ranges from 0-10, with a higher score indicating higher fatigue.	Baseline, day 8, day 29
Change in Multidimensional Fatigue Symptom Inventory-Short Form (MFSI_SF) Total Score	The MFSI-SF is a 30-item scale used to assess the multidimensional nature of fatigue. Responses are selected using a 5-point scale, ranging from 0 (not at all) to 4 (extremely fatigue). It consists of 5 subscales: general fatigue, physical fatigue, emotional fatigue, mental fatigue and vigor. The MFSI-SF total score is the sum of the general fatigue, physical fatigue, emotional fatigue and mental fatigue subscale score and subtracting vigor subscale score. Thus MFSI-SF total score ranges from 24-96, with a higher score indicating a higher fatigue level. We measured the change in MFSI-SF total score between Baseline and Day 8, and between Baseline and Day 29 using Wilcoxon signed rank test.	Baseline, day 8, day 29

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
• Collaborators: National Cancer Institute (NCI)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Sriram Yennu, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Yennurajalingam S, Valero V, Lu Z, Liu DD, Busaidy NL, Reuben JM, Diaz Fleming C, Williams JL, Hess KR, Basen-Engquist K, Bruera E. Combination Therapy of Physical Activity and Dexamethasone for Cancer-Related Fatigue: A Phase II Randomized Double-Blind Controlled Trial. J Natl Compr Canc Netw. 2021 Dec 29;20(3):235-243. doi: 10.6004/jnccn.2021.7066.

Helpful Links

• MD Anderson Cancer Center

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): August 13, 2015
• Primary Completion (Actual): March 28, 2019
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 3, 2015
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 3, 2015
• First Posted (Estimated): July 8, 2015

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 18, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 5, 2026
• Last Verified: March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pathologic Processes; Disease Attributes; Neoplastic Processes; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Signs and Symptoms; Neoplasms; Recurrence; Fatigue; Neoplasm Metastasis; Sulfur Compounds; Organic Chemicals; Hydrocarbons; Hydrocarbons, Cyclic; Hydrocarbons, Aromatic; Polycyclic Compounds; Pregnadienes; Pregnanes; Steroids; Fused-Ring Compounds; Steroids, Fluorinated; Benzene Derivatives; Sulfonic Acids; Sulfur Acids; Pregnadienetriols; Benzenesulfonates; Arylsulfonates; Arylsulfonic Acids; Dexamethasone; Calcium Dobesilate; dexamethasone 21-phosphate; auricularum; dexamethasone acetate
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2014-0436 (Other Identifier: M D Anderson Cancer Center); NCI-2015-01320 (Registry Identifier: CTRP (Clinical Trial Reporting Program))

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: Yes
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No