A Reminder App to Improve Physical Activity During Radiotherapy for Lung Cancer - a Pre-study in Healthy Volunteers (APART-LUNG)

May 12, 2026 updated by: University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein

Physical activity prior to and during chemo- and/or immunotherapy for lung cancer appears important. This may also be true for patients with lung cancer treated with radiation therapy. However, adherence to an exercise program sometimes may be challenging for the patients, particularly if they experience fatigue or other adverse events.

The question arose whether an easy-to-use mobile app installed on the patient's smart phone reminding patients several times daily to perform a certain number of steps will have a positive effect on their physical activity during a course of radiation therapy. Such an app has been developed within the Interreg project HeAT (Health Advancing Technologies for Elderly). However, before this app can be tested in a prospective trial involving patients, its usability should to be evaluated by healthy volunteers. In the present prospective study, 30 healthy volunteers test and rate ten aspects related to the usability of the app.

The healthy volunteers have to download a reminder app, which has been designed by the Lübeck based company Nextlabel Offene Handelsgesellschaft (OHG). After receiving the link for the download of the app from Nextlabel OHG by e-mail, the participants are asked to test the app and complete a questionnaire. They are asked to affirm or negate ten statements in three sections (download and installation, navigation, and content/functions) regarding the usability of the reminder app. The satisfaction rate represents the rate of participants who affirmed a statement. If this rate was <60%, the reminder app was rated as not being useful. If the rate was between ≥60% but <80%, the app was regarded useful but required further optimization regarding the corresponding section. In addition, iPhone and Android users are compared with respect to the satisfaction rates.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Lung cancer belongs to the most common types of solid cancer in Europe and Northern America. A considerable number of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) receive conventionally fractionated radiation therapy with or without systemic treatment. Radiation therapy may be associated with adverse events affecting healthy tissues within the radiation field but also with fatigue and a decreased level of physical activity or function. Patients who experience significant treatment-related toxicity may not be able to receive the complete radiation therapy as planned. Maintaining or even improving the level of activity by physical exercise or walking a certain number of steps per day may be helpful in this context. In a retrospective study of 184 cancer patients (including 31 patients with lung cancer), adherence to an exercise program was associated with fewer dose reductions and delays of chemotherapy. Moreover, several studies performed in patients with lung cancer suggested that physical activity had a positive effect on the patient's quality of live. Thus, physical activity prior to and during chemo- and/or immunotherapy for lung cancer appears important. This may also be true for patients with lung cancer treated with radiation therapy. However, adherence to an exercise program sometimes may be challenging for the patients, particularly if they experience fatigue or other adverse events. The question arose whether an easy-to-use mobile app installed on the patient's smart phone reminding patients several times daily to perform a certain number of steps will have a positive effect on their physical activity during a course of radiation therapy. Such an app has been developed within the Interreg project HeAT (Health Advancing Technologies for Elderly). However, before this app can be tested in a prospective trial involving patients, its usability should to be evaluated by healthy volunteers. In the present prospective study, 30 healthy volunteers test and rate ten aspects related to the usability of the app. This study will be followed by a clinical trial in lung cancer patients.

The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the usability of a reminder app designed to improve physical activity during radiation therapy for lung cancer. This is a prospective multi-center study (one arm), which is performed in 30 healthy volunteers. The healthy volunteers have to download a reminder app, which has been designed by the Lübeck based company Nextlabel OHG. After receiving the link for the download of the app from Nextlabel OHG by e-mail, the participants are asked to test the app and complete a questionnaire. They are asked to affirm or negate ten statements in three sections (download and installation, navigation, and content/functions) regarding the usability of the reminder app. The satisfaction rate represents the rate of participants who affirmed a statement. If this rate was <60%, the reminder app was rated as not being useful. If the rate was between ≥60% but <80%, the app was regarded useful but required further optimization regarding the corresponding section. In addition, iPhone and Android users are compared with respect to the satisfaction rates (Fisher's exact tests).

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

30

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

  • Denmark
      • Vejle, Denmark, 7100
        • Department of Oncology Vejle Hospital, University Hospital of Southern Denmark
  • Germany
    • Schleswig-Holstein
      • Lübeck, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, 23562
        • Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Luebeck

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Possession of and ability to use a smart phone plus a step counter
  2. Age ≥18 years
  3. Written informed consent
  4. Capacity of the participant to consent

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Expected non-compliance

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

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Other: Healthy volunteers evaluating a reminder app
Participants are asked to test the app and complete a questionnaire. They are asked to affirm or negate ten statements in three sections (download and installation, navigation, and content/functions) regarding the usability of the reminder app.
Other: Questionnaire
The participants evaluate a mobile app installed on their smart phone reminding them several times daily to perform a certain number of steps. the participants are asked to complete a questionnaire and to affirm or negate ten statements in three sections (download and installation, navigation, and content/functions) regarding the usability of the app.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Satisfaction with the reminder app
Time Frame: Day 1
The participants are asked to affirm or negate ten statements in three sections (download and installation, navigation, and content/functions) regarding the usability of the reminder app. The satisfaction rate represents the rate of participants who affirmed a statement. If this rate was <60%, the reminder app was rated as not being useful. If the rate was between ≥60% but <80%, the app was regarded useful but required further optimization regarding the corresponding section.
Day 1

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Dirk Rades, Prof. Dr. med., FASTRO, University of Luebeck, Germany

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 19, 2026

Primary Completion (Actual)

April 21, 2026

Study Completion (Actual)

April 21, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

May 5, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 12, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

May 15, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 15, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 12, 2026

Last Verified

May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • APPAREL-HV

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

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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