The Effects of Low-Intensity Endurance Exercise on Improving Fatigue, Sleep, Quality of Life, Mitochondrial Function, Cellular Bioelectrical Impedance Phase Angle, and Predictors of Exercise Adherence in Patients With Lung Cancer

August 26, 2026 updated by: Taipei Medical University

To conduct a randomized controlled trial (RCT) targeting lung cancer patients with cancer-related fatigue to achieve the following objectives:

Objective 1: To investigate whether a low-intensity endurance exercise intervention can effectively improve mitochondrial DNA content, mitochondrial function, mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation complex enzyme concentrations, cellular bioelectrical impedance phase angle, cancer-related fatigue, and quality of life in lung cancer patients with cancer-related fatigue.

Objective 2: To explore whether the low-intensity endurance exercise intervention improves cancer-related fatigue and quality of life in lung cancer patients through direct or indirect effects by modulating mitochondrial DNA content, mitochondrial function, mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation complex enzyme concentrations, and cellular bioelectrical impedance phase angle.

Objective 3: To investigate the correlation between personality traits and adherence to low-intensity endurance exercise in lung cancer patients.

Objective 4: To investigate whether a low-intensity endurance exercise intervention can effectively improve sleep quality in lung cancer patients with cancer-related fatigue.

Objective 5: To investigate whether a low-intensity endurance exercise intervention can effectively reduce stress in lung cancer patients with cancer-related fatigue.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

After enrollment, participants will be randomly assigned to one of the following three groups:

  1. Control Group Participants assigned to the control group will not receive any exercise intervention and will be instructed to maintain their usual daily lifestyle and physical activity throughout the study period.

  2. Low-Intensity Continuous Endurance Exercise Training Group (Level 2) Participants will perform Level 2 low-intensity continuous endurance exercise for at least 30 consecutive minutes per day, 5 days per week. Exercise intensity will be maintained at 75-80% of peak heart rate (HRpeak), corresponding to a Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) of 11-12 (light). At this intensity, participants should perceive the exercise as relatively easy, with an increased breathing rate but still be able to carry on a conversation comfortably, although occasional pauses for breathing may be required.

    Each exercise session will consist of:

    • a 5-minute warm-up,
    • 30 minutes of continuous low-intensity endurance exercise, and
    • a 10-minute cool-down, during which exercise intensity will be gradually reduced until cessation.
  3. Low-Intensity Interval Endurance Exercise Training Group

Participants will perform 30 minutes of interval endurance exercise per day, 5 days per week. Each session will consist of five alternating cycles, with each cycle including:

  • 3 minutes of Level 2 low-intensity endurance exercise at 75-80% HRpeak (RPE 11-12), followed by
  • 3 minutes of Level 1 very low-intensity endurance exercise at 65-75% HRpeak, corresponding to an RPE <11 (very light), during which participants should perceive the exercise as very easy.

Each exercise session will begin with a 5-minute warm-up and conclude with a 10-minute cool-down, during which exercise intensity will be gradually reduced until exercise cessation.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

450

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

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • Taiwan
      • Taipei, Taiwan, 110
        • Recruiting
        • Taipei Medical University
        • Contact:

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

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Individuals diagnosed with lung cancer by a physician.
  2. Aged 20 years or older.
  3. Education level of elementary school graduation or above.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Individuals who are unable to communicate in Mandarin Chinese, Taiwanese, or Hakka.
  2. Individuals whose physical condition is determined by a physician to be unsuitable for performing any exercise.

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
No Intervention: Control Group
Participants assigned to the control group will not receive any exercise intervention and will be instructed to maintain their usual daily lifestyle and physical activity throughout the study period.
Experimental: continuous exercise group
Participants will perform Level 2 low-intensity continuous endurance exercise for at least 30 consecutive minutes per day, 5 days per week. Exercise intensity will be maintained at 75-80% of peak heart rate (HRpeak), corresponding to a Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) of 11-12 (light). Each exercise session will consist of a 5-minute warm-up, 30 minutes of continuous low-intensity endurance exercise, and a 10-minute cool-down.
Behavioral: Low-Intensity Continuous Endurance Exercise Training
Participants will perform Level 2 low-intensity continuous endurance exercise for at least 30 consecutive minutes per day, 5 days per week. Intensity at 75-80% HRpeak (RPE 11-12).
Experimental: low-intensity exercise group
Participants will perform 30 minutes of interval endurance exercise per day, 5 days per week. Each session will consist of five alternating cycles, with each cycle including 3 minutes of Level 2 low-intensity endurance exercise at 75-80% HRpeak (RPE 11-12), followed by 3 minutes of Level 1 very low-intensity endurance exercise at 65-75% HRpeak (RPE <11). Each exercise session will begin with a 5-minute warm-up and conclude with a 10-minute cool-down.
Behavioral: Low-Intensity Interval Endurance Exercise Training
Participants will perform 30 minutes of interval endurance exercise per day, 5 days per week. Five alternating cycles (3 mins Level 2 at 75-80% HRpeak + 3 mins Level 1 at 65-75% HRpeak).

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change from baseline in Cancer-Related Fatigue (CRF)
Time Frame: Baseline, Week 6, Week 12, and monthly up to 15 months.
Evaluated by the Brief Fatigue Inventory-Taiwan (BFI-T) and the ICD-10 diagnostic criteria for cancer-related fatigue. The BFI-T total score ranges from 0 to 90, with higher scores indicating greater fatigue severity and interference with daily life.
Baseline, Week 6, Week 12, and monthly up to 15 months.
Change from baseline in leukocyte mitochondrial DNA copy number and mitochondrial function
Time Frame: Baseline, Week 6, Week 12, and monthly up to 15 months.
Leukocyte mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) copy number will be quantified using real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) by calculating the relative mtDNA-to-nuclear DNA ratio. Mitochondrial function will be evaluated by measuring the oxygen consumption rate (OCR) and ATP coupling efficiency using the Seahorse XFp extracellular flux analyzer.
Baseline, Week 6, Week 12, and monthly up to 15 months.
Change from Baseline in Cellular Bioelectrical Impedance Phase Angle and Skeletal Muscle Mass
Time Frame: Baseline, Week 6, Week 12, and monthly up to 15 months.
Measured by the InBody S10 multi-frequency bioelectrical impedance analyzer. Higher phase angle values indicate better cellular integrity and cell function.
Baseline, Week 6, Week 12, and monthly up to 15 months.
Change from Baseline in Quality of Life (QoL)
Time Frame: Baseline, Week 6, Week 12, and monthly up to 15 months.
Evaluated using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G) Taiwan version. The total score ranges from 0 to 108, with higher scores representing better health-related quality of life.
Baseline, Week 6, Week 12, and monthly up to 15 months.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change from Baseline in Sleep Quality
Time Frame: Baseline, Week 6, Week 12, and monthly up to 15 months.
Assessed by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) Taiwan form. Total scores range from 0 to 21, where a score > 5 indicates poor sleep quality.
Baseline, Week 6, Week 12, and monthly up to 15 months.
Change from Baseline in Perceived Stress
Time Frame: Baseline, Week 6, Week 12, and monthly up to 15 months.
Measured by the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10). Total scores range from 0 to 40, with higher scores indicating higher levels of perceived stress.
Baseline, Week 6, Week 12, and monthly up to 15 months.
Predictors of Exercise Adherence (Personality Traits)
Time Frame: Baseline, Week 6, Week 12, and monthly up to 15 months.
Evaluated using the International English Big-Five Mini-Markers (Chinese version) at baseline to explore its correlation with the 12-week low-intensity endurance exercise adherence rate.
Baseline, Week 6, Week 12, and monthly up to 15 months.

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Taipei Medical University

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)

July 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

July 1, 2028

Study Completion (Estimated)

July 1, 2029

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 26, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 26, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

August 31, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

August 31, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 26, 2026

Last Verified

August 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • N20261110

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

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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