Clinical trial · Interventional
Feasibility of Adjunctive BLT for Amelioration of Fatigue in Chinese Cancer Patients Admitted to a Palliative Care Unit
Feasibility Study of Adjunctive Bright Light Therapy (BLT) for Amelioration of Fatigue in Chinese Cancer Patients Admitted to a Palliative Care Unit
- Source
- ClinicalTrials.gov
- Retrieved
- Sep 8, 2026
- Layer
- normalized (units and labels harmonized; values unchanged)
- Run
- ING-CLINICALTRIALS-20260908-000001
Summary
Brief summary (as posted)
Fatigue is the most common symptom in palliative care patients who have advanced cancer. Fatigue is also one of the most underreported hence under-treated symptoms. Patients may perceive it as a condition to be endured, whereas healthcare workers find it very challenging to assess and treat due to its subjective nature and multi-dimensional causes. However, evidence-based practice to tackle this distressing problem is still inadequate, and that a one-size fit all approach is unrealistic. Various pharmacological options have been examined, but due to limited evidence, no specific drug could be recommended. Latest development in management of fatigue includes non-pharmacological approach. Bright Light Treatment (BLT) has also evolved as a favourable treatment for cancer-related fatigue. BLT is the prescription of artificial bright light over a designated period of time. Recent clinical evidence showed that BLT reduced symptom of fatigue in patients undergoing active chemotherapy and cancer survivours. There is however no data on bright light therapy used in in-patient palliative care settings. A single group, prospective interventional study will be conducted in in-patient palliative care unit of Shatin Hospital (N = 42). The aim is to assess the feasibility and impact of BLT as an in-patient intervention in a cohort of local Chinese palliative care in-patients diagnosed with incurable cancer with documented symptom of fatigue, and to ascertain the changes of fatigue, mood, sleep and quality of life after 1-week exposure of BLT.
Conditions
Conditions (2)
Free-text conditions as registered, with the CancerIndex entity they were reconciled to and the match type.
| Condition (as posted) | Mapped entity | Match | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cancer | Malignant Neoplasm | ALIAS | 0.90 |
| Fatigue | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
Interventions
Interventions (1)
| Intervention | Type | Mapped drug | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| bright light therapy | Device | — | UNRESOLVED |
Design
Arms and outcomes
Arms (1)
- type
- EXPERIMENTAL
- label
- Bright light therapy
- description
- Bright light therapy (BLT) will be given via a lightbox device in the morning for 30 minutes after waking up. Duration of therapy will be 7 consecutive days.
- interventionNames
- Device: bright light therapy
Primary outcomes (3)
- measure
- Rate of declined particilation in the study
- timeFrame
- At screening stage
- description
- Rate of approached potential subjects who declined participation in the study
- measure
- Attrition rate
- timeFrame
- 1 week of the intervention
- description
- Rate of subject drop out (all cause)
Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
- Sex
- All
- Minimum age
- 18 Years
Show eligibility criteria text
Inclusion Criteria: * Adult patient aged 18 years old or above * Chinese ethnic group * Diagnosis of incurable cancer * A score of \>=3 in Brief Fatigue Inventory after a period of standard care Exclusion Criteria: * Patients who are imminently dying * Patients who are undergoing chemotherapy or radiotherapy * Patients who have history of epilepsy, brain tumour, brain metastasis * Patients who are blind or have retinal disease * Patents who have photosensitive skin condition * Patients who have history of bipolar disorder as BLT has been suggested to increase the risk of manic swing in patients with bipolar disorder * Patients who have their dosage of antidepressants adjusted within 6 weeks * Patients who have difficulties to communicate effectively * Patients with impaired mental status precluding the completion of the questionnaire (AMT \<5) * Patients who are unable to give valid consent
References
Publications (29)
- BACKGROUNDTeunissen SC, Wesker W, Kruitwagen C, de Haes HC, Voest EE, de Graeff A. Symptom prevalence in patients with incurable cancer: a systematic review. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2007 Jul;34(1):94-104. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2006.10.015. Epub 2007 May 23. PMID 17509812
- BACKGROUNDStone P, Richards M, Hardy J. Fatigue in patients with cancer. Eur J Cancer. 1998 Oct;34(11):1670-6. doi: 10.1016/s0959-8049(98)00167-1. PMID 9893650
- BACKGROUNDChan CW, Molassiotis A. The impact of fatigue on Chinese cancer patients in Hong Kong. Support Care Cancer. 2001 Jan;9(1):18-24. doi: 10.1007/s005200000192. PMID 11147138
- BACKGROUNDLou Y, Yates P, McCarthy A, Wang H. Fatigue self-management: a survey of Chinese cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. J Clin Nurs. 2013 Apr;22(7-8):1053-65. doi: 10.1111/jocn.12174. PMID 23480501
- BACKGROUNDCurt GA, Breitbart W, Cella D, Groopman JE, Horning SJ, Itri LM, Johnson DH, Miaskowski C, Scherr SL, Portenoy RK, Vogelzang NJ. Impact of cancer-related fatigue on the lives of patients: new findings from the Fatigue Coalition. Oncologist. 2000;5(5):353-60. doi: 10.1634/theoncologist.5-5-353. PMID 11040270
- BACKGROUNDGupta D, Lis CG, Grutsch JF. The relationship between cancer-related fatigue and patient satisfaction with quality of life in cancer. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2007 Jul;34(1):40-7. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2006.10.012. Epub 2007 May 25. PMID 17532179
- BACKGROUNDDean A. The holistic management of fatigue within palliative care. Int J Palliat Nurs. 2019 Aug 2;25(8):368-376. doi: 10.12968/ijpn.2019.25.8.368. PMID 31437105
- BACKGROUNDMucke M; Mochamat; Cuhls H, Peuckmann-Post V, Minton O, Stone P, Radbruch L. Pharmacological treatments for fatigue associated with palliative care. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2015 May 30;2015(5):CD006788. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD006788.pub3.