Targeted Telerehabilitation Following Curative Intent Therapy of Lung Cancer

January 26, 2026 updated by: VA Office of Research and Development

Telerehabilitation for Veteran Lung Cancer Survivors Following Curative Intent Therapy

Lung cancer is the second-most commonly diagnosed cancer among U.S. Veterans. Substantial advances have been made in early detection through screening and treatment. The longevity of Veterans following lung cancer diagnosis and treatment has increased. Following treatment however, many Veterans experience increased symptom burden, particularly in shortness of breath, fatigue, and fear/anxiety about lung cancer, and impairments in physical and psychosocial functioning. Rehabilitation services are needed to address these survivorship challenges. This study will evaluate multi-targeted telerehabilitation with Veterans following lung cancer treatment, with goals to reduce symptom burden, improve physical and psychosocial function, and enhance health-related quality of life. This research will also develop the career of a physician researcher to acquire expertise in rehabilitation for many Veteran survivors of lung and other cancers.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Lung cancer is the second-most commonly diagnosed cancer among U.S. Veterans - over 8,200 incident cases are diagnosed each year. Approximately 50% of lung cancers are diagnosed at stage I-III and therefore eligible for curative intent therapy. Survival rates among Veterans with early stage lung cancer have increased along with advances in surgical and radiation techniques. Following curative intent therapy, many Veterans experience physical function loss and increased symptom burden, particularly in dyspnea, fatigue, and fear/anxiety. Approaches are needed to improve their physical and psychosocial function and health-related quality of life (HRQL). We hypothesize that multi-targeted telerehabilitation could mitigate these HRQL impairments. Therefore, we will conduct a pilot randomized trial to examine the (a) feasibility, (b) acceptability, (c) safety, and (d) explore the effects of multi-targeted telerehabilitation with these patients. Participants (N=30-40) will be randomized (3:1) to receive 8 weeks of participant-chosen targeted telerehabilitation (experimental arm) or waitlist condition (control arm). Feasibility will be assessed by enrollment, adherence, retention and exploratory effects by linear mixed effects models comparing changes in patient-centered outcomes from baseline to end-of-intervention between groups: dyspnea, daily step count, fatigue, role/social function, fear/anxiety, and HRQL. This project will provide pilot data and training for an early career physician investigator to establish independence, with a goal of a large-scale, preference-informed randomized trial of targeted and patient-centered telerehabilitation, to improve the physical and psychosocial function, independence, and HRQL of Veteran lung cancer survivors following curative intent therapy.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

40

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 Contact

  • Name: Duc M Ha, MD MAS
  • Phone Number: (240) 643-6872
  • Email: Duc.Ha@va.gov

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Colorado
      • Aurora, Colorado, United States, 80045-7211
        • Recruiting
        • Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center, Aurora, CO
        • Contact:
          • Duc M Ha, MD MAS
          • Phone Number: 240-643-6872
          • Email: Duc.Ha@va.gov
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Duc M. Ha, MD MAS

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

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Adult Veterans with a history of stage I-III A/B lung cancer, and
  • Completed curative intent therapy (i.e., lung cancer resection surgery, definitive radiation, or concurrent chemoradiation) within 1-6 months

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Adult Veterans with any comorbid conditions that preclude participation in exercise and telerehabilitation:
  • Orthopedic conditions (e.g., bilateral below-knee amputation), or
  • Severe cardiopulmonary disease (e.g., unstable arrhythmias including ventricular tachycardia, heart failure with systolic ejection fraction < 25%, chronic hypoxemia needing > 5 L/min oxygen supplementation at rest), or
  • Inability to follow directions or provide informed consent (e.g., moderate to severe dementia), or
  • Enrolled in hospice, or
  • With an estimated life expectancy of < 6 months

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: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Targeted telerehabilitation
Participant-chosen targets: 1) inspiratory muscle training + walking (to reduce dyspnea and improve physical activity/endurance; 2) resistance training (to reduce fatigue and improve role/social function; 3) mindfulness training (to reduce fear of cancer recurrence and anxiety)
Behavioral: Targeted-telerehabilitation
Participant-chosen targets: 1) inspiratory muscle training + walking (to reduce dyspnea and improve physical activity/stept count; 2) resistance training (to reduce fatigue and improve role/social function; 3) mindfulness training (to reduce fear of cancer recurrence and anxiety)
Active Comparator: Waitlist
8-week waiting period prior to participating in targeted telerehabilitation
Behavioral: Waitlist
8-week waiting period prior to targeted telerehabilitation

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Health-related quality of life (HRQL)
Time Frame: Difference in changes in HRQL between baseline and end-of-intervention (8 weeks)
Global health-related quality of life (EORTC QLQ C30 global/QoL subscale)
Difference in changes in HRQL between baseline and end-of-intervention (8 weeks)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Dysnea and physical activity (participant-chosen)
Time Frame: Differences in changes in UCSD SOBQ and average steps/day between baseline and end-of-intervention (8 weeks)
University of California Shortness of Breath Questionnaire (UCSD SOBQ) and Fitbit stepcount
Differences in changes in UCSD SOBQ and average steps/day between baseline and end-of-intervention (8 weeks)
Cancer-related function (participant chosen)
Time Frame: Difference in changes in PROMIS-SF Cancer Function 3D Profile between baseline and end-of-intervention (8 weeks)
PROMIS-SF Cancer Function 3D Profile (fatigue, role, and social function)
Difference in changes in PROMIS-SF Cancer Function 3D Profile between baseline and end-of-intervention (8 weeks)
Fear of Cancer Recurrence and Cancer-related Anxiety (participant chosen)
Time Frame: Difference in changes in FCR and PROMIS-SF Anxiety 8a between baseline and end-of-intervention (8 weeks)
Fear of Cancer Recurrence (FCR) and PROMIS-SF Anxiety 8a
Difference in changes in FCR and PROMIS-SF Anxiety 8a between baseline and end-of-intervention (8 weeks)

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

VA Office of Research and Development

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Duc M. Ha, MD MAS, Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center, Aurora, CO

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)

January 12, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

March 30, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

March 30, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

December 16, 2021

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

December 16, 2021

First Posted (Actual)

January 5, 2022

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

January 27, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 26, 2026

Last Verified

January 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • F3661-W
  • RX003661 (Other Grant/Funding Number: Department of Veterans Affairs)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

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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