Effect of a Digital Lifestyle Intervention on Health-Related Quality of Life in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Survivors (QUALUCA): a Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial

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).