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Methylphenidate and Exercise in Reducing Cancer-Related Fatigue in Patients With Prostate Cancer

Phase 2
Active, not recruiting
Conditions
Prostate Carcinoma
Interventions
Behavioral: Exercise Intervention
Other: Quality-of-Life Assessment
Other: Placebo
Other: Questionnaire Administration
Other: Stretching
Registration Number
NCT03772834
Lead Sponsor
M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
Brief Summary

This phase II/III trial studies how well methylphenidate and exercise work in reducing cancer-related fatigue in patients with prostate cancer. Methylphenidate is a type of central nervous system stimulant that can improve cognitive ability, mainly in memory and cognitive function. Exercise can improve mood and the physical aspects of cancer-related fatigue. Giving methylphenidate in combination with exercise may work better in reducing cancer-related fatigue in patients with prostate cancer.

Detailed Description

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE:

I. To determine if the combination of exercise (EX) plus methylphenidate (MP) is superior to exercise plus placebo in the treatment of cancer-related fatigue (CRF) in patients with prostate cancer scheduled to receive radiotherapy with androgen deprivation therapy for 12 weeks.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVE:

I. To determine the effects of combined exercise plus methylphenidate on quality-of-life, mood, physical, and cognitive measures.

EXPLORATORY OBJECTIVES:

I. To identify potential synergistic effects of exercise and methylphenidate in improvement of CRF.

II. To explore changes in brain activity by electroencephalography (EEG) in responders (with 4 point or greater change in Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue \[FACIT-F\] scores) versus (vs) non-responders to the intervention.

OUTLINE: Patients are randomized to 1 of 4 groups.

GROUP I: Patients receive methylphenidate orally (PO) twice daily (BID) and undergo exercise program consisting of resistance training twice weekly (BIW) and walking 15- 40 minutes a day 4 days a week for 12 weeks.

GROUP II: Patients receive a placebo PO BID and undergo exercise program consisting of resistance training BIW and walking 15-40 minutes a day for 4 days a week for 12 weeks.

GROUP III: Patients receive methylphenidate PO BID and undergo stretching for 4 days a week for 12 weeks.

GROUP IV: Patients receive a placebo PO BID and undergo stretching for 4 days a week for 12 weeks.

After completion of study treatment, patients are followed up at 3 months.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING
Sex
Male
Target Recruitment
200
Inclusion Criteria
  • Have a diagnosis of prostate cancer and be scheduled to receive radiotherapy with concurrent androgen deprivation therapy, and presence of fatigue with severity of 1/10, on a 0-10 scale for at least 2 weeks
  • Patient not regularly engaging in moderate aerobic exercise for >90 minutes/week and/or vigorous aerobic exercise for >30 minutes/week, and/ or strength training for >/= 1 day/week
  • Have no clinical evidence of cognitive failure as evidenced by Memorial Delirium Assessment Scale score of </=13 at baseline
  • Be aged 18 years or older
  • Be willing to engage in follow-up telephone calls with a research staff
  • Be willing to participate in the exercise programs
  • Have telephone access so they can be contacted by the research staff
  • Have a hemoglobin level of >/= 10 g/dL within 2 weeks of enrollment
  • Be able to understand the description of the study and give written informed consent
  • Have a Zubrod performance status score of 0 to 2
  • Seen at an outpatient clinic at MD Anderson Cancer Center, its Houston Area Locations (HALs) or Smith Radiation Oncology Clinic (HHS)
Exclusion Criteria
  • Have a major contraindication to MethylphenidateMP) (e.g., allergy/hypersensitivity to study medications or their constituents), exercise (e.g., cardiac disease), or conditions making adherence difficult as determined by the attending physician
  • Be currently taking MP, or have taken it within the previous 10 days
  • Be unable to complete the baseline assessment forms (e.g., due to language or sensory barriers) or to understand the recommendations for participation in the study
  • Need monoamine oxidase inhibitors, tricyclic antidepressants, or clonidine
  • Have glaucoma
  • Have severe cardiac disease (New York Heart Association functional class III or IV)
  • Have tachycardia and/or uncontrolled hypertension
  • Be currently receiving anticoagulants, anticonvulsants (phenobarbital, diphenylhydantone, primidone), phenylbutazone, and/or tricyclic drugs (imipramine, clomipramine, or desipramine).

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Group I (methylphenidate, resistance training, walking)Questionnaire AdministrationPatients receive methylphenidate PO BID and undergo exercise program consisting of resistance training BIW and walking 15- 40 minutes a day 4 days a week for 12 weeks.
Group III (methylphenidate, stretching)Quality-of-Life AssessmentPatients receive methylphenidate PO BID and undergo stretching for 4 days a week for 12 weeks.
Group III (methylphenidate, stretching)Questionnaire AdministrationPatients receive methylphenidate PO BID and undergo stretching for 4 days a week for 12 weeks.
Group IV (placebo, stretching)Quality-of-Life AssessmentPatients receive a placebo PO BID and undergo stretching for 4 days a week for 12 weeks.
Group II (placebo, resistance training, stretching)Exercise InterventionPatients receive a placebo PO BID and undergo exercise program consisting of resistance training BIW and walking 15-40 minutes a day for 4 days a week for 12 weeks.
Group II (placebo, resistance training, stretching)Questionnaire AdministrationPatients receive a placebo PO BID and undergo exercise program consisting of resistance training BIW and walking 15-40 minutes a day for 4 days a week for 12 weeks.
Group III (methylphenidate, stretching)StretchingPatients receive methylphenidate PO BID and undergo stretching for 4 days a week for 12 weeks.
Group IV (placebo, stretching)StretchingPatients receive a placebo PO BID and undergo stretching for 4 days a week for 12 weeks.
Group I (methylphenidate, resistance training, walking)Exercise InterventionPatients receive methylphenidate PO BID and undergo exercise program consisting of resistance training BIW and walking 15- 40 minutes a day 4 days a week for 12 weeks.
Group II (placebo, resistance training, stretching)PlaceboPatients receive a placebo PO BID and undergo exercise program consisting of resistance training BIW and walking 15-40 minutes a day for 4 days a week for 12 weeks.
Group II (placebo, resistance training, stretching)Quality-of-Life AssessmentPatients receive a placebo PO BID and undergo exercise program consisting of resistance training BIW and walking 15-40 minutes a day for 4 days a week for 12 weeks.
Group IV (placebo, stretching)PlaceboPatients receive a placebo PO BID and undergo stretching for 4 days a week for 12 weeks.
Group I (methylphenidate, resistance training, walking)Quality-of-Life AssessmentPatients receive methylphenidate PO BID and undergo exercise program consisting of resistance training BIW and walking 15- 40 minutes a day 4 days a week for 12 weeks.
Group IV (placebo, stretching)Questionnaire AdministrationPatients receive a placebo PO BID and undergo stretching for 4 days a week for 12 weeks.
Group I (methylphenidate, resistance training, walking)MethylphenidatePatients receive methylphenidate PO BID and undergo exercise program consisting of resistance training BIW and walking 15- 40 minutes a day 4 days a week for 12 weeks.
Group III (methylphenidate, stretching)MethylphenidatePatients receive methylphenidate PO BID and undergo stretching for 4 days a week for 12 weeks.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Level of cancer-related fatigue in all groupsUp to 12 weeks

Will measure cancer-related fatigue (CRF) using the area under the curve (AUC) of the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue (FACIT-F) subscale score. The intervention exposure will be operationalized as proportion of the total minutes of prescribed exercise intervention the study patient was actually able to participate, or the proportion of prescribed study medication the study patient was able to actually take.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Change in quality of life, mood, physical and cognitive measures in all groupsBaseline up to 12 weeks

Will use a mixed-effects model to compare changes in Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy - General (FACT-G), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Multidimensional Fatigue Symptom Inventory - Short Form (MFSI-SF), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), usual gait speed, hand grip strength (HGS), 30 second chair stand test (30s-CST), actigraphy, VO2 max, and C-reactive protein scores over time between the four treatment groups. For the mixed effects model, we will estimate the slopes for the changes in scores over time for each group and test the difference in these slopes.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

M D Anderson Cancer Center

🇺🇸

Houston, Texas, United States

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