Guided Digital Self-Hypnosis Solution for Managing Hot Flashes in Patients Undergoing Adjuvant Hormone Therapy (HYBOU)

Patients treated for breast cancer with hormone therapy (HT) suffer from hot flashes. This side effect impacts treatment adherence. Indeed, approximately 50% of women take less than 80% of the prescribed dose, and up to 50% abandon their treatment before the fifth year of prescription, significantly increasing the risk of recurrence. Moreover, these hot flashes strongly impact the quality of life. According to the CANTO study, these hot flashes can persist up to two years after diagnosis, affecting social relationships, return to work, and physical and mental health.

Some side effects resulting from HT (sleep disturbances, fatigue, hot flashes) could be alleviated by a non-pharmacological approach involving the patient.

Our hypothesis is that a non-pharmacological solution, such as the use of self-hypnosis, could reduce hot flashes and the side effects related to HT or the perception thereof in patients treated for breast cancer. Consequently, this could improve the quality of life and lead to better treatment adherence.

The principal objective is to evaluate the effect of daily guided self-hypnosis sessions in reducing hot flashes in patients with non-metastatic breast cancer receiving anti-aromatase hormone therapy.

The secondary objectives are to evaluate :

• Patient adherence to guided self-hypnosis via a digital solution
• Quality of life
• Sleep quality
• Satisfaction with care
• Usability of the digital tool

The originality of this clinical trial is the proposal of self-hypnosis sessions over three weeks with three different themes using a digital solution.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Breast Cancer Female
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: self-hypnosis sessions

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 76
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: JEAN LOUIS MERLIN, PUPH; Phone Number: +33 3 83 65 60 62; Email: jl.merlin@nancy.unicancer.fr
• Study Contact Backup: Name: CECILE HUIN SCHOHN, PhD; Phone Number: + 33 3 83 59 86 07; Email: c.huinschohn@nancy.unicancer.fr

Study Locations

• France
  • Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy, France, 54500
    • Recruiting
    • Institut de Cancerologie de Lorraine
    • Principal Investigator: AURELIEN LAMBERT, MD
    • Contact: CECILE HUIN SCHOHN, PhD; Phone Number: + 33 3 83 59 86 07; Email: c.huinschohn@nancy.unicancer.fr
    • Contact: JEAN LOUIS MERLIN, PU-PH; Phone Number: +33 3 83 65 60 62; Email: jl.merlin@nancy.unicancer.fr

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Adult patient,
• WHO ≤ 2,
• Patient who is premenopausal, perimenopausal, or postmenopausal at diagnosis,
• Patient being treated for non-metastatic breast cancer,
• Ongoing adjuvant endocrine therapy, with or without concomitant anti-CDK 4/6 targeted therapy,
• Patient reporting at least 50 hot flashes per week or at least 7 hot flashes per day
• Patient has a computer device capable of accessing the self-hypnosis program link,
• Information provided and informed consent signed,
• Patient affiliated with the social security system.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Male,
• Patient with hearing impairments,
• Patient with psychotic and/or cognitive disorders As assessed by the clinician,
• Patient who does not understand the French language,
• Patient not diagnosed with non-metastatic breast cancer,
• Patient not undergoing anti-aromatase treatment,
• Patient reporting fewer than 50 hot flashes per week or fewer than 7 hot flashes per day,
• Prior participation in a hypnosis or self-hypnosis program before inclusion,
• Patient participating in a therapeutic program related to hot flashes,
• Patient already included in another therapeutic trial on the same topic,
• Patient already included in another therapeutic trial with an experimental drug,
• Pregnant or breastfeeding woman,
• Patient deprived of liberty (including guardianship and curatorship).

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Standard group; standard care
Experimental: Hypnosis group; experimental care with 3 self-hypnosis sessions over 3 weeks, one session per week to be practiced daily	Other: self-hypnosis sessions; 3 self-hypnosis sessions over 3 weeks, one session per week to be practiced daily

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Hot Flash Score (HFS)	In each group (standard and hypnosis), hot flashes will be primarily assessed using the Hot Flash Score (HFS) [Elkins et al. 2013], calculated through daily measurements as follows: HFS = frequency × average severity of hot flashes, where severity is rated from 1 to 4 (1: mild, 2: moderate, 3: severe, 4: very severe). The weekly HFS is calculated by averaging the daily HFS scores for each patient. Secondly, we will also evaluate the effect of guided self-hypnosis in reducing the frequency of hot flashes.	28 days

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Patient adherence	calculated from the data automatically recorded by the digital solution software. Adherence is thus evaluated by the rate of session follow-ups, estimated by the proportion of patients who followed all the recommended sessions without interruption, for the hypnosis group only.	28 days
Score of quality of life	Assessed using the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire at Day 0 and Day 28. The global score ranges from 0 to 100. For each question the scale ranges from 0 = not at all to 4 = a lot.	28 days
Sleep quality	Evaluated using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index questionnaire score at Day 0 and Day 28. The global score ranges from 0 to 21. Higher scores indicate poorer sleep quality, with a score greater than 5 suggesting significant sleep difficulties.	28 days
Patient satisfaction	Assessed at Day 28 using a numerical scale. The numerical scale ranges from 0 = not satisfied to 10 = very satisfied.	28 days
Usability of the digital tool	Assessed at Day 28 using the System Usability Scale questionnaire score (Gronier & Baudet, 2021) for the hypnosis group only. It's composed of 10 questions on a scale from 0 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree	28 days

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Institut de Cancérologie de Lorraine
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: AURELIEN LAMBERT, MD, Institut de Cancerologie de Lorraine

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): October 17, 2024
• Primary Completion (Estimated): April 30, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): February 17, 2027

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 8, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 12, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): August 13, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): February 17, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 12, 2026
• Last Verified: November 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: breast cancer; hormone therapy; hot flashes; non-metastatic; self-hypnosis
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Neoplasms by Site; Neoplasms; Skin Diseases; Breast Diseases; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Skin and Connective Tissue Diseases; Signs and Symptoms; Breast Neoplasms; Hot Flashes
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2024-A01105-42

Drug and device information, study documents

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