Feasibility and Tolerability of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation With Concurrent Cognitive Training

April 22, 2026 updated by: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Pilot Study of Feasibility and Tolerability of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation With Concurrent Cognitive Training

In this study, the investigators are testing transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in breast cancer survivors. In this pilot study, the investigators want to learn if it is feasible to use this device in memory rehabilitation.

Study Overview

Status

Active, not recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

18

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

  • United States
    • New York
      • New York, New York, United States, 10065
        • Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

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

40 years to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Breast cancer survivors treated with chemotherapy between 40 and 65 years of age with no evidence of disease with treatment completed at least six months prior to study participation with or without current endocrine therapy.

  • Self-reported new onset since initiation of treatment cognitive dysfunction as determined by telephone screen using the brief (3 questions) assessment established by Ercoli et al. [3] (endorsement on all three questions):

    1. Do you think or feel that your memory or mental ability has gotten worse since you completed your breast cancer treatment?
    2. Do you think that your mind isn't as sharp now as it was before your breast cancer treatments?
    3. Do you feel like these problems have made it harder to function on your job or take care of things around the home?
  • In the judgment of the investigators and/or consenting professional, able to read and comprehend English
  • In the judgment of the consenting professional cognitively able to provide informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients with prior history of primary Central Nervous System (CNS) cancer or CNS metastases
  • As per self report and/or medical record history of diagnosed neurological illness including seizure disorder, a dementing condition, or other neurological illness (multiple sclerosis, history of cerebrovascular accident, etc.)
  • Participants with untreated depression or anxiety as assessed by self-report and review of medical history;
  • Participants with a history of treated or untreated schizophrenia or bipolar disorder as assessed by self report and review of medical history;
  • As per self report participants who are pregnant or who are breastfeeding
  • As per self report participants with pacemakers, intracranial electrodes, implanted defibrillators or any other prosthesis.

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: Treatment
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: tDCS with cognitive training
We will collect: 1) self-reported demographic information (~5 min) 2) cognitive functioning data (PAOFI) at session 1 and session 4 (~10min) [60]; 3) behavioral data and EEG data from the tDCS stimulation task for each session (downloaded by investigators); 4) patient feedback on their experience with tDCS (tDCS Patient Experience Questionnaire (tPEQ)) for each session (~5 min); 5) tDCS accrual and session completion rates at the completion of treatment and 6) Brunoni Adverse Events Questionnaire (~5 min)
Device: Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS)
Behavioral: Questionnaires

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
number of subjects recruited
Time Frame: 6 months
feasibility defined by the number of subjects recruited in a six month time frame
6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: James Root, PhD, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

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.

Helpful Links

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)

March 30, 2016

Primary Completion (Estimated)

March 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

March 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 30, 2016

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 30, 2016

First Posted (Estimated)

April 4, 2016

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

April 27, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 22, 2026

Last Verified

April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 16-034

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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