- ICH GCP
- US Clinical Trials Registry
- Clinical Trial NCT04694885
Quality of Life Improvement During Chemotherapy (QoLMa)
Quality of Life Improvement of Breast Cancer Patients During Chemotherapy With Structured Psychological Interventions
This study is a randomized controlled trial, taking place at the University Hospital Basel (CH). It aims at the alleviation of breast cancer patients' life quality during chemotherapy.
The intervention group will participate in 10 sessions of structured hypnotherapy during the course of chemotherapy in addition to the standard of care. The control group will have access to the standard of care without any additional treatment. The main goal of the study is to investigate whether quality of life is higher among patients in the intervention group. Additionally, it will be analyzed if the interventions have a positive effect on chemotherapy side effects, symptoms of anxiety and depression and the immune system. Finally, the relative dose intensity (RDI) as well as treatment schedule adherence will be assessed.
There are no risks to be expected from the intervention itself. In the case of positive findings, the standard of psycho-oncological care can be updated by integrating structured hypnotherapeutic interventions into the treatment of patients with breast cancer.
Study Overview
Status
Conditions
Intervention / Treatment
Detailed Description
Background:
Breast cancer patients who undergo chemotherapy are likely to experience lower life quality, side effects like nausea and vomiting and symptoms of anxiety or depression. At the same time their immune system is down regulated by a stress reaction following cancer diagnosis and also by the chemotherapy itself. Decrease of several immune factors is associated with lower survival expectancy.
Hypnotherapy uses methods like relaxation, symptom-control techniques, imagination and working with inner resources. They can be used to bring positive change for patients both mentally as well as physically. Self-hypnosis techniques are used to bring back a feeling of self-efficacy which is impaired in most cancer patients who report to lose control over their body.
Emerging evidence shows the effectiveness of hypnotherapy in reducing side-effects of medical treatments and improve mental health and quality of life of cancer patients. It was shown that hypnotherapy has a positive effect on several immune factors. But up to now it is not clear if there is also a positive effect on the immune system during chemotherapy.
During Chemotherapy it is important that patients adhere as much as possible to the treatment schedule and to the optimal dosage. Due to chemotherapy side-effects or other reasons it happens regularly that treatment needs be delayed or dosage reduced which in turn lowers the efficiency of the chemotherapy.
Objectives:
This study is designed to evaluate if hypnotherapy has a positive effect on quality of life, side-effects of chemotherapy, symptoms of anxiety and depression, the immune system and the relative dose intensity (RDI) of female breast cancer patients during the course of chemotherapy.
Study Flow:
After patients have been diagnosed with primary breast cancer and were assigned to either adjuvant or neo-adjuvant chemotherapy they are asked if they want to participate in the study and are given all the necessary information and consent form. If they agree, they will be randomly assigned to either the control group or the intervention group following a computer generated randomization list. Before the first session of hypnotherapy they will be given the first questionnaires (T0). Those assigned to the intervention group will be contacted by a therapist to fix a date for the first session, if possible before the first chemotherapy cycle or shortly after the first cycle, when the side effects are not yet present. During 4,5 months, patients will receive 6 cycles of chemotherapy and 10 session of hypnotherapy. They will have access to the standard of psycho-oncological care during the study. The control group will not receive any Hypnotherapy but also has access to the standard of psycho-oncological care.
Measurement Points:
T0 (Baseline) = After diagnosis and before the first chemotherapy cycle
T1 = First cycle of chemotherapy
T2 = Second cycle
T3 = Third cycle
T4 = Fourth cycle
T5 = Fifth cycle
T6 = Sixth cycle
The duration of one cycle will be approx. 3 weeks, depending on the individual chemotherapy regimen.This means that the total time for the chemotherapy of one patient will last around 18 weeks.
There are no risks to be expected from the intervention itself. In the case of positive findings, the standard of psycho-oncological care can be updated by integrating structured hypnotherapeutic interventions into the treatment of patients with breast cancer.
Study Type
Enrollment (Estimated)
Phase
- Not Applicable
Contacts and Locations
Study Contact
- Name: Christian Schwegler, Dr.
- Phone Number: +49 (0)170 472 47 47
- Email: christian@praxisschwegler.ch
Study Contact Backup
- Name: Isabel Ge, Dr.
- Phone Number: +41 (0)61 328 58 85
- Email: isabellxiang.ge@usb.ch
Study Locations
-
-
Basel-Stadt
-
Basel, Basel-Stadt, Switzerland, 4031
- Recruiting
- University Hospital Basel
-
Contact:
- Christian Schwegler, Dr.
-
-
Participation Criteria
Eligibility Criteria
Ages Eligible for Study
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
Description
Inclusion Criteria:
- Minimum Age 18 years
- Female
- Primary breast cancer
- Receiving neo-adjuvant or adjuvant chemotherapy
Exclusion Criteria:
- Verbal or cognitive deficits that are not compatible with outpatient psychotherapy
- Not consenting patients and vulnerable persons
- Psychological disorders that prevent patients from participating in the study (e.g. psychotic disorder)
- acute suicidality
Study Plan
How is the study designed?
Design Details
- Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
- Allocation: Randomized
- Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
- Masking: None (Open Label)
Arms and Interventions
Participant Group / Arm |
Intervention / Treatment |
---|---|
No Intervention: Standard of Care
The control group will receive the standard of psycho-oncological care.
|
|
Experimental: Standard of Care + Structured Hypnotherapy
The intervention group will receive the standard of psycho-oncological care plus 10 hypnotherapeutic sessions every two weeks.
|
The Intervention includes 10 structured hypnotherapy sessions lasting 45 to 60 minutes. During hypnosis, patients reach a trance-like state comparable to a deep relaxation. The therapist guides the patient verbally and also communicates with the patient. Patients will be supported to use their own imagination without suggesting any imagery. By repeatedly asking what the patient is perceiving, and by verbally repeating what the patient is saying, the therapist can help the patient to go deeper into trance. In these trance states the patient learns to reduce negative side effects of the chemotherapy and increase the quality of life by activating both physical and mental resources using imagination and focusing on positive memories and feelings.
Other Names:
|
What is the study measuring?
Primary Outcome Measures
Outcome Measure |
Measure Description |
Time Frame |
---|---|---|
Average Summary Score of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30)
Time Frame: 6 times within 18 weeks + baseline at day 1
|
The outcome measure will be the average of all 6 time points on the EORTC QLQ-C30 summary score.
The summary score ranges from 0 to 100 with higher scores representing a better quality of life.
In the statistical analysis this average summary score will be corrected for values of the summary score at T0.
|
6 times within 18 weeks + baseline at day 1
|
Secondary Outcome Measures
Outcome Measure |
Measure Description |
Time Frame |
---|---|---|
Summary Score of the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30)
Time Frame: 7 times within 18 weeks
|
Summary score of the EORTC QLQ-C30 on all 7 time points including baseline.
The summary score ranges from 0 to 100 with higher scores representing a better quality of life.
In the statistical analysis the summary score will be compared between all time points to see the development of life quality throughout the chemotherapy.
|
7 times within 18 weeks
|
Side Effects of Chemotherapy
Time Frame: 7 times within 18 weeks
|
Side effects of chemotherapy will also be captured with the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30).
It contains three symptom scales (fatigue, pain, nausea and vomiting) and single items assessing additional symptoms commonly reported by cancer patients (dyspnoea, loss of appetite, insomnia, constipation, diarrhea and financial problems).
All symptom scales range from 1-4 with higher values representing higher levels of symptoms.
|
7 times within 18 weeks
|
Hamilton Anxiety and Depression Scale - German Version (HADS-D)
Time Frame: 7 times within 18 weeks
|
The HADS-D has two sub-scales for anxiety and depression. Each sub-scale ranges from 0 to 21 with higher values representing more severe symptoms of depression and anxiety respectively. <= 7 unproblematic 8 - 10 threshold >= 11 problematic |
7 times within 18 weeks
|
Immune Factors
Time Frame: 3 times within 18 weeks
|
Count of cells per micro-liter (μL) of:
|
3 times within 18 weeks
|
Interleukin-6
Time Frame: 3 times within 18 weeks
|
Counts of picogram per milliliter (pg/mL) of IL-6 (interleukin-6)
|
3 times within 18 weeks
|
Tumor Marker CA 15-3
Time Frame: 3 times within 18 weeks
|
Counts of international units per milliliter (IU/mL) of tumor marker CA 15-3
|
3 times within 18 weeks
|
Relative Dose Intensity (RDI)
Time Frame: 18 weeks
|
RDI = % dose x (planned days / used days).
Reference values: >85% effective treatment, <=85% ineffective and significantly decreased survival chances.
|
18 weeks
|
Schedule Modification: Delayed Cycles
Time Frame: 18 weeks
|
Delayed cycles.
Reference value >=2.
The less cycles are delayed, the more efficient is the chemotherapy.
If two or more cycles have been delayed, we consider it a significant decrease in schedule adherence.
|
18 weeks
|
Schedule modification: Delayed Days
Time Frame: 18 weeks
|
Delayed days.
Reference value >=14.
The less days are delayed, the more efficient is the chemotherapy.
If 14 or more days have been delayed, we consider it a significant decrease in schedule adherence.
|
18 weeks
|
Other Outcome Measures
Outcome Measure |
Measure Description |
Time Frame |
---|---|---|
Exploratory Analysis of the Correlation between Quality of Life, Anxiety, Depression and Immunfaktors and Tumor Marker
Time Frame: 18 weeks
|
Individual correlations between quality of life, side effects of chemotherapy, anxiety and depression (specified as outcome measures 2 - 4) and each of the immune factors and tumor marker (outcome measures 5 - 7).
Due to lack of pre-existing evidence, we make no predictions about direction and magnitude of the effects.
|
18 weeks
|
Collaborators and Investigators
Sponsor
Investigators
- Principal Investigator: Christian Schwegler, Dr., University Hospital, Basel, Switzerland
- Study Director: Isabel Ge, Dr., University Hospital, Basel, Switzerland
Study record dates
Study Major Dates
Study Start (Actual)
Primary Completion (Estimated)
Study Completion (Estimated)
Study Registration Dates
First Submitted
First Submitted That Met QC Criteria
First Posted (Actual)
Study Record Updates
Last Update Posted (Actual)
Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria
Last Verified
More Information
Terms related to this study
Keywords
Additional Relevant MeSH Terms
Other Study ID Numbers
- QoLMa
Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)
Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?
IPD Plan Description
IPD Sharing Time Frame
IPD Sharing Access Criteria
IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type
- STUDY_PROTOCOL
- SAP
- ICF
Drug and device information, study documents
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product
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.
Clinical Trials on Chemotherapy Effect
-
Hospices Civils de LyonCompletedChemotherapy Effect | G-CHOP Chemotherapy | R-CHOP ChemotherapyFrance
-
Namik Kemal UniversityCompleted
-
GCS Ramsay Santé pour l'Enseignement et la RechercheRecruitingChemotherapy EffectFrance
-
West Cancer CenterPfizer; Emory UniversityCompletedChemotherapy EffectUnited States
-
Rennes University HospitalNot yet recruitingChemotherapy Effect | AplasiaFrance
-
Groupe Hospitalier Paris Saint JosephHopital Antoine BeclereCompletedCancer | Chemotherapy EffectFrance
-
Animated Dynamics, Inc.Purdue UniversityNot yet recruitingCancer | Chemotherapy EffectUnited States
-
Udayana UniversityUnknown
-
Sutter HealthUnknownChemotherapy Effect | Chemotherapeutic Toxicity | FastingUnited States
-
The Christie NHS Foundation TrustUniversity of ManchesterTerminated
Clinical Trials on Structured Hypnotherapy
-
Medical University of ViennaCompleted
-
Maastricht University Medical CenterZonMw: The Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and DevelopmentUnknownIrritable Bowel SyndromeNetherlands
-
Medical University of ViennaCompletedIrritable Bowel SyndromeAustria
-
Families To The RescueNo longer availableAlzheimer Disease
-
Mayo ClinicActive, not recruiting
-
Ataturk UniversityCompleted
-
Mind-Body Digestive CenterCompleted
-
Sahlgrenska University Hospital, SwedenActive, not recruitingIBS - Irritable Bowel SyndromeSweden
-
Charite University, Berlin, GermanyTerminated