Department of Biobehavioral Health, College of Health and Human Development, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA.
Department of Psychology, Faculty of Science, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL, Canada.
J Cancer Surviv. 2018 Apr;12(2):206-215. doi: 10.1007/s11764-017-0659-3. Epub 2017 Nov 10.
Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is a common and distressing symptom that can persist after cancer treatment has concluded. Bright light therapy has shown preliminary efficacy in reducing CRF, but its impact on other psychosocial factors is unclear. The purpose was to examine the impact of a 1-month light therapy intervention on fatigue, mood, and quality of life in cancer survivors with fatigue.
This 4-week blinded randomized controlled trial recruited cancer survivors who met diagnostic criteria for CRF. Participants were randomly assigned to receive a light therapy device that produced either bright white light (BWL; intervention) or dim red light (DRL; active control). Participants were instructed to use the device daily for 30 min upon waking for 28 days. The primary outcome, fatigue, was assessed weekly. Secondary outcomes assessed pre- and post-intervention included mood, depressive symptoms, and quality of life.
A total of 81 participants were randomly assigned to receive BWL (n = 42) or DRL (n = 39). Analyses revealed a group-by-time interaction for fatigue (p = .034), wherein the BWL condition reported a 17% greater reduction in fatigue than those in the DRL condition (between group d = .30). There were also significant improvements over time for both groups on measures of mood, depressive symptoms, and quality of life (p's < .01).
BWL was associated with greater improvements in fatigue and both groups displayed improvements on secondary psychosocial outcomes.
These findings, along with previous reports of light therapy for CRF, support the use of this intervention to improve fatigue in cancer survivors.
癌症相关疲劳（CRF）是一种常见且令人痛苦的症状，即使在癌症治疗结束后仍会持续存在。亮光疗法已初步显示出减轻 CRF 的疗效，但它对其他心理社会因素的影响尚不清楚。本研究旨在探讨为期 1 个月的光疗干预对疲劳、情绪和生活质量的影响。
这是一项为期 4 周的、盲法、随机对照试验，招募了符合 CRF 诊断标准的癌症幸存者。参与者被随机分配接受产生明亮白光（BWL；干预组）或暗淡红光（DRL；主动对照组）的光疗设备。参与者被指示在 28 天内每天起床后使用该设备 30 分钟。主要结局指标是每周评估的疲劳情况。在干预前和干预后评估的次要结局指标包括情绪、抑郁症状和生活质量。
共有 81 名参与者被随机分配接受 BWL（n=42）或 DRL（n=39）治疗。分析显示，疲劳的组间时间交互作用具有统计学意义（p=0.034），BWL 组的疲劳缓解程度比 DRL 组高 17%（组间 d=0.30）。两组在情绪、抑郁症状和生活质量方面也都随着时间的推移而显著改善（p<0.01）。
BWL 与疲劳的改善程度更大相关，且两组在次要心理社会结局方面都有改善。
这些发现，以及之前关于光疗治疗 CRF 的报告，支持使用这种干预措施来改善癌症幸存者的疲劳。
