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Advanced Malignant NeoplasmPhase 2/3NCT02491632

Physical Activity and Dexamethasone in Reducing Cancer-Related Fatigue in Patients With Advanced Cancer

A Phase 2/3 study testing Dexamethasone, Exercise Intervention and Laboratory Biomarker Analysis in people with Advanced Malignant Neoplasm and Fatigue, run by M.D. Anderson Cancer Center at 1 site in United States.

Active, not recruiting

Under way, not looking for participants. Everyone needed has enrolled. The study is still running.

Official record
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Trial summary

This randomized phase II trial studies how well physical activity and dexamethasone work in reducing cancer-related fatigue in patients with cancer that has spread to other places in the body and usually cannot be cured or controlled with treatment (advanced). Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 years and older
What is being tested?
Dexamethasone, Exercise Intervention and Laboratory Biomarker Analysis
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
90 participants
Where
1 siteUnited States
Study dates
13 Aug 2015to 31 Dec 2026
Phase
Phase 2/3
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
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • A diagnosis of advanced cancer (defined as metastatic or recurrent) with fatigue >= 4/10 (0-10 scale) on the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS)
  • The presence of fatigue for at least 2 weeks
  • Normal cognition
  • Hemoglobin > 8 g/L within 1 week of enrollment in the study
  • A life expectancy of >= 4 months
  • No evidence of significant anxiety or depression as determined by a total HADS scores of < 21
  • Definition of advanced cancer includes those patients who have metastatic or refractory disease according to their treating oncologist
  • Patients must be able to understand, read, write, and speak English or Spanish

Who cannot join

  • Patients with a history of hypersensitivity to dexamethasone or having any contraindication to physical activity as determined by the treating physician
  • Reports a fall in the past 30 days
  • Uncontrolled diabetes mellitus as defined by a random blood sugar of > 200 mg/dl not being monitored by their primary care physician
  • Sepsis and/or acute, chronic, or ongoing infections that are currently being treated with systemic antimicrobials
  • Will exclude patients with current, active peptic ulcer disease
  • Neutropenia as defined by an absolute neutrophil count (ANC) of < 1000 cells/mm
  • Regular participation in moderate- or vigorous-intensity physical activity for >= 30 minutes at least 5 times a week and strength training for >= 2 days
  • Severe cardiac disease (New York Heart Association functional class III or IV) or coronary artery disease

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

United States1 site

  • M D Anderson Cancer Center

    Houston, Texas, 77030

Other trials in United States

About this study

Official title: Effects of Physical Activity Plus Short Course of Dexamethasone for Cancer-Related Fatigue in Advanced Cancer

This randomized phase II trial studies how well physical activity and dexamethasone work in reducing cancer-related fatigue in patients with cancer that has spread to other places in the body and usually cannot be cured or controlled with treatment (advanced). Dexamethasone is approved for the treatment of tiredness, pain, and nausea. Physical activity may help improve cancer-related fatigue by improvement in symptoms, distress, and overall well-being. It is not yet known whether high dose or low dose dexamethasone combined with physical activity works better in reducing fatigue in patients with advanced cancer.

Read the detailed description

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:

  1. To determine the feasibility, adherence, and satisfaction with physical activity (PA) plus dexamethasone (PA+ DEX).

SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:

  1. To explore the preliminary efficacy of PA+ Hi Dex group (PA for 4 weeks plus high dose dexamethasone for 1 week) and PA + Lo Dex groups (PA for 4 weeks plus low dose dexamethasone for 1 week) on cancer-related fatigue (CRF) as measured by Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue (FACIT-F) at the end of one week.

II. To explore the effects of PA+ Hi Dex on the various dimensions of CRF (Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System-Fatigue [PROMIS-F]), i.e., affective/emotional (Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale [HADS]); physical/behavioral (the Multidimensional Fatigue Symptom Inventory-Short Form [MFSI-SF], Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index), physical activity and function (30 second sit-to stand test, six minute walk test) before and after treatment.

OUTLINE: Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 arms.

ARM I: Patients receive high-dose dexamethasone orally (PO) twice daily (BID) for 7 days. Patients also follow a graded resistance exercise program 3 days a week and a walking regimen at least 5 days a week for 4 weeks. The frequency, duration, and intensity of the exercises will be evaluated and adjusted as necessary.

ARM II: Patients receive low-dose dexamethasone PO BID for 7 days. Patients also follow a graded resistance exercise program 3 days a week and a walking regimen at least 5 days a week for 4 weeks. The frequency, duration, and intensity of the exercises will be evaluated and adjusted as necessary.

After completion of study, patients are followed up at day 29 and again after 1 month.

Being tested
Dexamethasone, Exercise Intervention, Laboratory Biomarker Analysis, Quality-of-Life Assessment, Questionnaire Administration
Medical subject headings
Fatigue, Neoplasm Metastasis, Recurrence, Neoplasms

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • DexamethasoneDrug

    Also called Aacidexam, Adexone, Aknichthol Dexa, Alba-Dex

    Given PO

  • Exercise InterventionBehavioural

    Complete a graded resistance exercise program and a walking regimen

  • Laboratory Biomarker AnalysisOther

    Correlative studies

  • Quality-of-Life AssessmentOther

    Also called Quality of Life Assessment

    Ancillary studies

  • Questionnaire AdministrationOther

    Ancillary studies

Study groups in NCT02491632
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Arm I (high-dose dexamethasone, physical activity)ExperimentalPatients receive high-dose dexamethasone PO BID for 7 days. Patients also follow a graded resistance exercise program 3 days a week and a walking regimen at least 5 days a week for 4 weeks. The frequency, duration, and intensity of the exercises will be evaluated and adjusted as necessary.
Receives: Drug: Dexamethasone; Behavioral: Exercise Intervention; Other: Laboratory Biomarker Analysis; Other: Quality-of-Life Assessment; Other: Questionnaire Administration
Arm II (low dose dexamethasone, physical activity)ExperimentalPatients receive low-dose dexamethasone PO BID for 7 days. Patients also follow a graded resistance exercise program 3 days a week and a walking regimen at least 5 days a week for 4 weeks. The frequency, duration, and intensity of the exercises will be evaluated and adjusted as necessary.
Receives: Drug: Dexamethasone; Behavioral: Exercise Intervention; Other: Laboratory Biomarker Analysis; Other: Quality-of-Life Assessment; Other: Questionnaire Administration

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Change in Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue (FACIT-F) Levels at Day 8 and Day 29

    FACIT-F (Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue) subscale is a 13 item subscale of FACT-G that allows patient to rate the intensity of their fatigue and its related symptoms on a scale of 0 (not at all) to 4 (very much). The total calculated score varied from 0-52 with a lower score indicating a more severe fatigue level. We measured the change in FACIT-F levels between Baseline and Day 8, and between Baseline and Day 29 using Wilcoxon signed rank test.

    Measured: Baseline, day 8, day 29

Secondary outcomes (3)

  1. Change in Patient Reported Outcome Measurement Information System-Fatigue (PROMIS-F) Total

    The PROMIS-F (Patient Reported Outcome Measurement Information System-Fatigue) short form was used to measure the experience of fatigue in patients' daily activities over the past week. It consists of 7 items with response options on a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (always). We measured the change in PROMIS-F score between Baseline and Day 8, and between Baseline and Day 29 using Wilcoxon signed rank test. The total score is used in the analysis and is obtained by summing keyed scores of all items. Scores can range from 7 to 35, with higher scores indicating greater fatigue.

    Measured: Baseline, day 8, day 29

  2. Change in Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS) Fatigue

    ESAS (Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale) is a validated scale ranging from 0 (not at all) to 10 (very much) used to assess 10 symptoms commonly experienced by cancer patients during the previous 24 hours: pain, fatigue, nausea, depression, anxiety, drowsiness, dyspnea, anorexia, sleep and feeling of wellbeing. We measured the change in ESAS fatigue score between Baseline and Day 8, and between Baseline and Day 29 using Wilcoxon signed rank test. Total ESAS fatigue score ranges from 0-10, with a higher score indicating higher fatigue.

    Measured: Baseline, day 8, day 29

  3. Change in Multidimensional Fatigue Symptom Inventory-Short Form (MFSI_SF) Total Score

    The MFSI-SF is a 30-item scale used to assess the multidimensional nature of fatigue. Responses are selected using a 5-point scale, ranging from 0 (not at all) to 4 (extremely fatigue). It consists of 5 subscales: general fatigue, physical fatigue, emotional fatigue, mental fatigue and vigor. The MFSI-SF total score is the sum of the general fatigue, physical fatigue, emotional fatigue and mental fatigue subscale score and subtracting vigor subscale score. Thus MFSI-SF total score ranges from 24-96, with a higher score indicating a higher fatigue level. We measured the change in MFSI-SF total score between Baseline and Day 8, and between Baseline and Day 29 using Wilcoxon signed rank test.

    Measured: Baseline, day 8, day 29

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted8 Jul 2015 (estimated)
  2. Study start13 Aug 2015
  3. Primary completion28 Mar 2019
  4. Study completion31 Dec 2026 (estimated)

Resources

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 2/3
Primary purpose
Supportive care
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Masking
Double blind
Who is masked
Participant, Investigator
Enrolment
90 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT02491632
Sponsor's protocol ID
2014-0436
Other IDs
NCI-2015-01320, 2014-0436
Status last verified
Sep 2026
First submitted
3 Jul 2015
Last updated
22 Sep 2026
Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
Yes
FDA-regulated device
No

Publications

  • Yennurajalingam S, Valero V, Lu Z, Liu DD, Busaidy NL, Reuben JM, Diaz Fleming C, Williams JL, Hess KR, Basen-Engquist K, Bruera E. Combination Therapy of Physical Activity and Dexamethasone for Cancer-Related Fatigue: A Phase II Randomized Double-Blind Controlled Trial. J Natl Compr Canc Netw. 2021 Dec 29;20(3):235-243. doi: 10.6004/jnccn.2021.7066.

    PubMed 34965510

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A Phase 2/3 study testing Dexamethasone, Exercise Intervention and Laboratory Biomarker Analysis in people with Advanced Malignant Neoplasm and Fatigue, run by M.D. Anderson Cancer Center 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 8 inclusion and 8 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: under way, not looking for participants, as of the sponsor's last update on 22 Sep 2026. 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.

What does this combined phase mean?

Phase 2 studies give the treatment to a larger group to see whether it has the intended effect and to keep checking safety.

Phase 3 studies compare the treatment with the current standard treatment or a placebo in a large group, to confirm how well it works and watch for side effects.

Not every study follows the same path, and some studies (observational studies, device studies) have no phase.

Are results available for this study?

Yes. Results are posted in the registry (first posted 21 Sep 2022). 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?

Change in Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue (FACIT-F) Levels at Day 8 and Day 29 (time frame: Baseline, day 8, day 29). 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 NCT02491632, which also lists 1 linked publication.

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 22 Sep 2026.

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