Breast CancerNCT00478257
Effect of Increased Light Exposure on Fatigue in Breast Cancer
A study testing bright white light and comparator red light treatment in people with Breast Cancer, run by University of California, San Diego at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
Patients treated with chemotherapy complain of poor sleep, fatigue and depression. In addition, chemotherapy disrupts the body's internal "biological clock", which may make sleep, fatigue and depression all worse. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 years and older, women only
- Conditions the study is for
- Breast Cancer
- What is being tested?
- bright white light and comparator red light treatment
- Type of treatment
- Medical device
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 39 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- Nov 2005to Nov 2009
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- Yes, posted in the registrySummary in the doctors' view
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 years and older
- Women only
- No healthy volunteers
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- stage I-III breast cancer
- adjuvant or neoadjuvant anthracycline-based chemotherapy
Who cannot join
- under age 18
- pregnancy
- metastatic or inoperable (including inflammatory) breast cancer
- confounding underlying medical illnesses
- history of mania
- history of other axis-I psychiatric disorder
- other physical or psychological impairments -
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
United States1 site
Moores UCSD Cancer Center
San Diego, California, 92093
About this study
Patients treated with chemotherapy complain of poor sleep, fatigue and depression. In addition, chemotherapy disrupts the body's internal "biological clock", which may make sleep, fatigue and depression all worse. Women with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy are not exposed to much bright light and this may also contribute to the disruption of their body clock, because bright light is necessary for a strong biological clock. One of the easiest ways to strengthen the biological clock is by increasing bright light exposure. The correct timing of the light exposure will help the women feel more alert during the day.
Read the detailed description
Patients treated with chemotherapy complain of poor sleep, fatigue and depression. Our preliminary research suggests that these symptoms may all be related, that chemotherapy disrupts circadian rhythms which may exacerbate the poor sleep and fatigue and that during chemotherapy, women are not exposed to much bright light which likely also contributes to the disruption of rhythms. One of the easiest circadian rhythms to measure is sleep/wake activity and the easiest way to synchronize this rhythm is with bright light treatment. It is well established that bright light exposure will make rhythms more robust, and the correct timing of the light exposure will have an alerting effect.
We hypothesize that after bright light treatment compared to dim light treatment during three cycles of chemotherapy: fatigue (measured by the Multidimensional Fatigue Symptom Inventory), depression (measured by the Center of Epidemiological Studies-Depression scale), functional outcome scores (measured by the Functional Outcome of Sleep Questionnaire and by the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast), and sleep measures (measured by actigraphy, e.g., total sleep time, total wake time, bouts of sleep, napping) will all be improved. We also hypothesize that circadian rhythms (measured by actigraphy) will be more robust and more synchronized.
The aims are to examine the effect of bright light treatment on subjective measures of fatigue, mood and functional outcome experienced during chemotherapy, to examine the effect of bright light treatment on the quality and quantity of sleep during chemotherapy, to examine the effect of bright light treatment on sleep/wake rhythms during chemotherapy. Women with breast cancer stages I-III scheduled to begin chemotherapy will be recruited. Wrist actigraphy data (for the measurement of sleep/wake activity) will be collected for three consecutive days and nights immediately preceding chemotherapy and questionnaire data (fatigue, mood, quality of life, functional outcome, sleep) will be collected during this same time period. Half the women will be randomized to receive bright light and the other half to dim red light as a control. Daily bright light or dim light treatment will be administered during cycles 2, 3 and 4 of chemotherapy and all measures (actigraphy and questionnaires) will be repeated during the first and last weeks of cycle 1 and cycle 4 chemotherapy. If bright light can improve sleep rhythms and fatigue, then the quality of life of these women is likely to improve.
- Conditions
- Breast Cancer
- Being tested
- bright white light, comparator red light treatment
- Keywords
- fatigue, sleep, quality of life, light, cancer
- Medical subject headings
- Breast Neoplasms, Fatigue, Neoplasms
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
bright white lightDevice
Intervention: Bright white light administered for 30 minutes each morning
comparator red light treatmentDevice
dim red light administered for 30 minutes every morning
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Active Bright White Light Treatment | Active comparator | Intervention: Bright white light, the intervention, was administered via a light box made by Litebook Inc for 30 minutes each morning during four cycles of chemotherapy Receives: Device: bright white light |
| 2 Comparator Red Light Treatment | Active comparator | Intervention: Dim red light, the intervention, was administered via a light box made by Litebook Inc for 30 minutes each morning during four cycles of chemotherapy Receives: Device: comparator red light treatment |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Fatigue
The Short Form of the Multidimensional Fatigue Symptom Inventory (MFSI-sf) was used to measure fatigue. The range of possible score for each subscale is 0 to 24, and the range for total score is -24 to 96, with a higher score indicating more severe fatigue, except for the Vigor subscale, where larger score indicates less fatigue.
Measured: four cycles of chemotherapy
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted24 May 2007 (estimated)
- Study startNov 2005
- Primary completionNov 2009
- Study completionNov 2009
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Posted resultsParticipant flow, outcome measures and adverse events reported by the sponsor.
- Publications (4)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for Breast CancerStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by University of California, San DiegoThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Supportive care
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Single blind
- Who is masked
- Participant
- Enrolment
- 39 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- University of California, San Diego
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- California Breast Cancer Research Program
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Sonia Ancoli-Israel, University of California, San Diego
- Investigators
- Sonia Ancoli-Israel, PhD, Principal investigator, University of California, San Diego
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT00478257
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- CBCRP 11IB-0034
- Status last verified
- Jan 2019
- First submitted
- 22 May 2007
- Last updated
- 6 Feb 2019
- Results posted
- Yes, on ClinicalTrials.gov
- Data monitoring committee
- No
Publications
Ancoli-Israel S, Rissling M, Neikrug A, Trofimenko V, Natarajan L, Parker BA, Lawton S, Desan P, Liu L. Light treatment prevents fatigue in women undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer. Support Care Cancer. 2012 Jun;20(6):1211-9. doi: 10.1007/s00520-011-1203-z. Epub 2011 Jun 11.
PubMed 21660669Jeste N, Liu L, Rissling M, Trofimenko V, Natarajan L, Parker BA, Ancoli-Israel S. Prevention of quality-of-life deterioration with light therapy is associated with changes in fatigue in women with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy. Qual Life Res. 2013 Aug;22(6):1239-44. doi: 10.1007/s11136-012-0243-2. Epub 2012 Aug 3.
PubMed 22865153Neikrug AB, Rissling M, Trofimenko V, Liu L, Natarajan L, Lawton S, Parker BA, Ancoli-Israel S. Bright light therapy protects women from circadian rhythm desynchronization during chemotherapy for breast cancer. Behav Sleep Med. 2012;10(3):202-16. doi: 10.1080/15402002.2011.634940.
PubMed 22742438Rissling M, Liu L, Youngstedt SD, Trofimenko V, Natarajan L, Neikrug AB, Jeste N, Parker BA, Ancoli-Israel S. Preventing Sleep Disruption With Bright Light Therapy During Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer: A Phase II Randomized Controlled Trial. Front Neurosci. 2022 Mar 9;16:815872. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2022.815872. eCollection 2022.
PubMed 35356054
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 6 Feb 2019. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Effect of Increased Light Exposure on Fatigue in Breast Cancer
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT00478257
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- CBCRP 11IB-0034
- Conditions
- Breast Cancer
- Keywords
- fatigue, sleep, quality of life, light, cancer
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 39 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- University of California, San DiegoUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- California Breast Cancer Research Program
- Study start
- Nov 2005
- Primary completion
- Nov 2009 (actual)
- Study completion
- Nov 2009 (actual)
- First posted
- 24 May 2007 (estimated)
- Results
- Posted 16 Jun 2016
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
Patients treated with chemotherapy complain of poor sleep, fatigue and depression. In addition, chemotherapy disrupts the body's internal "biological clock", which may make sleep, fatigue and depression all worse. Women with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy are not exposed to much bright light and this may also contribute to the disruption of their body clock, because bright light is necessary for a strong biological clock. One of the easiest ways to strengthen the biological clock is by increasing bright light exposure. The correct timing of the light exposure will help the women feel more alert during the day.
Detailed description
Patients treated with chemotherapy complain of poor sleep, fatigue and depression. Our preliminary research suggests that these symptoms may all be related, that chemotherapy disrupts circadian rhythms which may exacerbate the poor sleep and fatigue and that during chemotherapy, women are not exposed to much bright light which likely also contributes to the disruption of rhythms. One of the easiest circadian rhythms to measure is sleep/wake activity and the easiest way to synchronize this rhythm is with bright light treatment. It is well established that bright light exposure will make rhythms more robust, and the correct timing of the light exposure will have an alerting effect.
We hypothesize that after bright light treatment compared to dim light treatment during three cycles of chemotherapy: fatigue (measured by the Multidimensional Fatigue Symptom Inventory), depression (measured by the Center of Epidemiological Studies-Depression scale), functional outcome scores (measured by the Functional Outcome of Sleep Questionnaire and by the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast), and sleep measures (measured by actigraphy, e.g., total sleep time, total wake time, bouts of sleep, napping) will all be improved. We also hypothesize that circadian rhythms (measured by actigraphy) will be more robust and more synchronized.
The aims are to examine the effect of bright light treatment on subjective measures of fatigue, mood and functional outcome experienced during chemotherapy, to examine the effect of bright light treatment on the quality and quantity of sleep during chemotherapy, to examine the effect of bright light treatment on sleep/wake rhythms during chemotherapy. Women with breast cancer stages I-III scheduled to begin chemotherapy will be recruited. Wrist actigraphy data (for the measurement of sleep/wake activity) will be collected for three consecutive days and nights immediately preceding chemotherapy and questionnaire data (fatigue, mood, quality of life, functional outcome, sleep) will be collected during this same time period. Half the women will be randomized to receive bright light and the other half to dim red light as a control. Daily bright light or dim light treatment will be administered during cycles 2, 3 and 4 of chemotherapy and all measures (actigraphy and questionnaires) will be repeated during the first and last weeks of cycle 1 and cycle 4 chemotherapy. If bright light can improve sleep rhythms and fatigue, then the quality of life of these women is likely to improve.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Supportive care
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Single blind (participant)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Active Bright White Light Treatment | Active comparator | Device: bright white lightIntervention: Bright white light, the intervention, was administered via a light box made by Litebook Inc for 30 minutes each morning during four cycles of chemotherapy |
| 2 Comparator Red Light Treatment | Active comparator | Device: comparator red light treatmentIntervention: Dim red light, the intervention, was administered via a light box made by Litebook Inc for 30 minutes each morning during four cycles of chemotherapy |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 years and older
- Sex
- Female only
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (2 listed)
- stage I-III breast cancer
- adjuvant or neoadjuvant anthracycline-based chemotherapy
Key exclusion criteria (7 listed)
- under age 18
- pregnancy
- metastatic or inoperable (including inflammatory) breast cancer
- confounding underlying medical illnesses
- history of mania
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| bright white lightIntervention: Bright white light administered for 30 minutes each morning | Device | 1 Active Bright White Light Treatment |
| comparator red light treatmentdim red light administered for 30 minutes every morning | Device | 2 Comparator Red Light Treatment |
Primary outcome
Fatigue
Time frame: four cycles of chemotherapy
The Short Form of the Multidimensional Fatigue Symptom Inventory (MFSI-sf) was used to measure fatigue. The range of possible score for each subscale is 0 to 24, and the range for total score is -24 to 96, with a higher score indicating more severe fatigue, except for the Vigor subscale, where larger score indicates less fatigue.
Results and safety
Loading the posted results from ClinicalTrials.gov…
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 6 Feb 2019.
- Posted resultsParticipant flow, baseline, all outcome measures and adverse events.
- Results publication: PubMed 21660669Ancoli-Israel S, Rissling M, Neikrug A, Trofimenko V, Natarajan L, Parker BA, Lawton S, Desan P, Liu L. Light treatment prevents fatigue in women undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer. Support Care Cancer. 2012 Jun;20(6):1211-9. doi: 10.1007/s00520-011-1203-z. Epub 2011 Jun 11.
- Results publication: PubMed 22865153Jeste N, Liu L, Rissling M, Trofimenko V, Natarajan L, Parker BA, Ancoli-Israel S. Prevention of quality-of-life deterioration with light therapy is associated with changes in fatigue in women with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy. Qual Life Res. 2013 Aug;22(6):1239-44. doi: 10.1007/s11136-012-0243-2. Epub 2012 Aug 3.
- Results publication: PubMed 22742438Neikrug AB, Rissling M, Trofimenko V, Liu L, Natarajan L, Lawton S, Parker BA, Ancoli-Israel S. Bright light therapy protects women from circadian rhythm desynchronization during chemotherapy for breast cancer. Behav Sleep Med. 2012;10(3):202-16. doi: 10.1080/15402002.2011.634940.
- Derived from this study: PubMed 35356054Rissling M, Liu L, Youngstedt SD, Trofimenko V, Natarajan L, Neikrug AB, Jeste N, Parker BA, Ancoli-Israel S. Preventing Sleep Disruption With Bright Light Therapy During Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer: A Phase II Randomized Controlled Trial. Front Neurosci. 2022 Mar 9;16:815872. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2022.815872. eCollection 2022.
Related trials for Breast Cancer
Active, not recruiting
Streamlined Geriatric and Oncological Evaluation Based On IC Technology
Breast Cancer, Comorbidities and Coexisting Conditions
RecruitingPhase 2
Gene Signatures to Guide HR+MBC Therapy in a Diverse Cohort
Invasive Mammary Carcinoma, Metastatic Breast Cancer
Not yet recruitingObservational study
Comparison of Reliability, Time Cost, and Participant Comfort of Lymphedema Assessments in Upper Extremity
Lymphedema, Upper Extremity Lymphedema
RecruitingPhase 3
A Study of Camrelizumab Plus Chemotherapy in Combination With or Without Famitinib as Neoadjuvant Therapy in Participants With Triple Negative Breast Cancer (BCTOP-T-N01)
TNBC - Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
RecruitingPhase 3
Testing Whether Hormone Therapy With Ribociclib is as Effective as Chemotherapy Followed by Hormone Therapy With Ribociclib for the Treatment of High Anatomic Stage Breast Cancer With Low Recurrence Risk, The RxFINE-Low Trial
Anatomic Stage II Breast Cancer AJCC v8, Anatomic Stage IIIA Breast Cancer AJCC v8
Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Sonia Ancoli-Israel, PhD principal investigator
University of California, San Diego
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing bright white light and comparator red light treatment in people with Breast Cancer, run by University of California, San Diego at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 2 inclusion and 7 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 6 Feb 2019. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
Yes. Results are posted in the registry (first posted 16 Jun 2016). A summary is in the For doctors view, and the full results are on ClinicalTrials.gov.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Fatigue (time frame: four cycles of chemotherapy). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT00478257, which also lists 4 linked publications.
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 6 Feb 2019; AzTrials last refreshed its copy on 7 Nov 2026.