Clinical trial · Interventional
Qigong to Improve Frailty Among Older Cancer Survivors
Qigong to Improve Frailty Among Older Cancer Survivors: A Randomized Controlled Trial
- 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)
The objective of the study is to examine the effects of a 16-week Baduanjin qigong intervention on frailty, physical performance, psychological well-being, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among post-treatment older cancer survivors. This will be a randomized controlled, assessor-blind trial conforming to the CONSORT guidelines. A total of 226 cancer survivors aged over 65 who have completed curative treatment and screened as pre-frail or frail will be recruited and randomized into intervention and control groups. It is expected that upon intervention completion, the intervention group will demonstrate greater reversed frailty status, more improvements in physical performance, better psychological well-being, and enhanced HRQoL compared to the control group. Study instruments will be Fried Phenotype Criteria, Edmonton Frail Scale, Short Physical Performance Battery, Geriatric Depression Scale, European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Core Questionnaire, and a background questionnaire. The intervention comprises of 1-hour qigong group training twice a week for 8 weeks, then 1-hour weekly follow-up group practice for 8 weeks and self-practice. The control group participants will attend light flexibility exercise group sessions at the same duration and frequency as the intervention group. Intention-to-treat analysis will be performed.
Conditions
Conditions (4)
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 |
| Elderly | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
| Frailty | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
| Survivorship | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
Interventions
Interventions (2)
| Intervention | Type | Mapped drug | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| Light flexibility exercise | Behavioral | — | UNRESOLVED |
| Qigong Baduanjin | Behavioral | — | UNRESOLVED |
Design
Arms and outcomes
Arms (2)
- type
- EXPERIMENTAL
- label
- Qigong
- description
- The entire intervention will last 16 weeks, including 1-hour supervised training sessions twice a week during weeks 1 to 8 (training; 16 hours), and 1-hour supervised weekly follow-up sessions during weeks 9 to 16 (follow-up; 8 hours). The sessions will be supervised by an experienced qigong master. Throughout the intervention period, participants will be asked to self-practice BQ for 30 minutes twice a week from weeks 1 to 8, and then three times a week from weeks 9 to 16 (20 hours).
- interventionNames
- Behavioral: Qigong Baduanjin
- type
- ACTIVE_COMPARATOR
- label
- Light flexibility exercise
- description
- The control group will practice light flexibility exercise without any abdominal breathing and meditation techniques. The duration and frequency of supervised sessions and self-practice will be identical to the qigong sessions. The supervised sessions will be conducted by a certified exercise trainer.
- interventionNames
- Behavioral: Light flexibility exercise
Primary outcomes (1)
Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
- Sex
- All
- Minimum age
- 65 Years
Show eligibility criteria text
Inclusion Criteria: 1. aged ≥65 2. diagnosed with stage I-III non-metastatic cancer 3. completed primary treatment with curative intent (surgery, chemotherapy, and/or radiation therapy) 6 months to 5 years prior to baseline assessments with no recurrence or occurrence of additional cancers 4. classified as pre-frail or frail based on Fried frailty criteria 5. can communicate in Cantonese or Putonghua 6. written informed consent Exclusion Criteria: 1. regular qigong training or other mind body intervention (once or more per week) within the previous 6 months 2. medical conditions affecting mobility, predisposing to falls, or precluding qigong practice (e.g., neurological disease, musculoskeletal disorder, recent myocardial infarction, breathing difficulties requiring oxygen)
References
Publications (0)
Data not yet available