Digital Lifestyle Intervention for Lung Cancer Survivors (QUALUCA)

Kai-Uwe Schmitt, PhD, MEng, ICID

Status

Enrolling

Conditions

Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC)

Treatments

Behavioral: Lifestyle

Study type

Interventional

Funder types

Other

Identifiers

NCT05819346

Details and patient eligibility

About

The aim of this study is to assess the efficacy of a digital lifestyle intervention in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) survivors on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) over three months.

Full description

Lung cancer survivors suffer from reduced physical and psychological functioning as well as decreased overall health-related quality of life (HRQoL) due to cancer symptoms, cancer treatments, and comorbidities. Experienced symptoms by lung cancer survivors, such as cancer-related fatigue or dyspnea, persist after active treatment ends. Therefore, lung cancer survivors should receive continuous attention regarding their health and HRQoL beyond the expected cancer cure.

Physical activity, healthy nutrition, and breathing/relaxation exercises before, during, and after cancer treatments can increase physical as well as psychological functioning and HRQoL. Thus, the adhesion to an appropriate healthy lifestyle is crucial and represents an effective adjunctive strategy in the management of lung cancer survivors. Most lung cancer survivors, however, are sedentary and fail to meet official lifestyle recommendations, for instance, of the American Cancer Society or the World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research (WCRF/AICR).

The present project evaluates a mobile application for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) survivors that will be used for three months after rehabilitation or treatment has finished. The main foci of the mobile application are physical activity, nutrition, and breathing/relaxation. The contents of the mobile application and the mobile application itself were developed in an iterative co-creation process involving software developers and potential users as well as researchers and clinicians from different disciplines (e.g., physical therapy and nutritional therapy).

Enrollment

88 estimated patients

Sex

All

Ages

18+ years old

Volunteers

No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

Age ≥ 18 years
Diagnosis of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)
Estimated life expectancy of ≥ six months (judged by local investigators/responsible health professionals)
Undergoing inpatient or outpatient rehabilitation OR completion of planned surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation therapy for NSCLC within the past 24 weeks
Knowledge of German to understand study material and assessments
Access to a cell phone or tablet
Written informed consent

Exclusion criteria

Inability to provide informed consent
Inability to participate in the intervention because of physical, cognitive, or safety reasons (judged by local investigators/responsible health professionals)