Gierthmuehlen Mortimer, Seidel Sabine, Thon Niklas, Seliger Corinna
Department of Neurosurgery, University Medical Center Knappschaftskrankenhaus, In der Schornau 23-25, 44892, Bochum, Germany.
Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Knappschaftskrankenhaus, In der Schornau 23-25, 44892, Bochum, Germany.
Adv Ther. 2025 Jun 7. doi: 10.1007/s12325-025-03237-0.
INTRODUCTION: Cancer-Related Fatigue (CRF) is characterized as a distressing, persistent, and subjective sensation of physical, emotional, and/or cognitive exhaustion that is associated with cancer or its treatment. CRF is commonly observed in patients with cancer and a severely impairing symptom also in patients with the rare primary central nervous lymphoma (PCNSL). While its exact etiology remains unclear, elevated levels of tumor-induced inflammatory cytokines are believed to contribute to its development. Transcutaneous auricular vagal nerve stimulation (taVNS) is a non-invasive method to activate the vagal nerve through electrical stimulation of a vagally innervated area at the tragus. It has shown to modulate the immunsystem, to activate central arousal pathways and to reduce fatigue in autoimmune conditions. In this study, the effect of taVNS on the fatigue syndrome in patients with PCNSL will be investigated. METHODS: For this single-blinded, sham controlled, randomized controlled trial (RCT), 45 adult patients with PCNSL and fatigue in Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI20)-questionnaire after active treatment will be recruited and randomized to above-threshold-stimulation (A) sub-threshold-stimulation (B) or sham group (C). In Arm A, taVNS is perfomed on the left tragus (25 Hz, pulse width 250 µs,28 s on/32 s off,4 h/day). In Arm B, the patients will be asked to regulate the stimulator below perception threshold. In Arm C, the patients are initially shown how stimulation feels and then asked to decrease the intensity below perception threshold. They then take a non-functional sham-electrode home. Validated questionnaires data (MFI20, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI2), Short-form 26 (SF36), NeuroCogFx and Neurologic Assessment in Neuro-Oncology (NANO) and Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS)) will be collected at the beginning of the study and after 4 and 8 weeks. PLANNED OUTCOMES: This is the first clinical trial to assess if taVNS improves fatigue symptoms in patients with the primary CNS lymphoma. If taVNS improves fatigue in these patients, it will be a significant gain in quality of life. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study was approved by the ethics committee (2024-368-f-S) and registered at the DRKS database (DRKS00036323).
引言:癌症相关疲劳(CRF)的特征是一种令人痛苦、持续且主观的身体、情绪和/或认知疲惫感,与癌症或其治疗相关。CRF在癌症患者中很常见,在罕见的原发性中枢神经系统淋巴瘤(PCNSL)患者中也是一种严重损害症状。虽然其确切病因尚不清楚,但肿瘤诱导的炎症细胞因子水平升高被认为有助于其发展。经皮耳迷走神经刺激(taVNS)是一种通过电刺激耳屏处受迷走神经支配的区域来激活迷走神经的非侵入性方法。它已被证明可调节免疫系统、激活中枢唤醒通路并减轻自身免疫性疾病中的疲劳。在本研究中,将研究taVNS对PCNSL患者疲劳综合征的影响。 方法:对于这项单盲、假对照、随机对照试验(RCT),将招募45名成年PCNSL患者,这些患者在积极治疗后多维疲劳量表(MFI20)问卷中存在疲劳,并随机分为阈上刺激组(A)、阈下刺激组(B)或假刺激组(C)。在A组中,在左耳屏进行taVNS(25Hz,脉冲宽度250µs,开28秒/关32秒,每天4小时)。在B组中,患者将被要求将刺激器调节至感知阈值以下。在C组中,首先向患者展示刺激的感觉,然后要求他们将强度降低至感知阈值以下。然后他们将一个无功能的假电极带回家。在研究开始时以及4周和8周后收集经过验证的问卷数据(MFI20、贝克抑郁量表(BDI2)、简明健康调查问卷26项(SF36)、神经认知功能问卷(NeuroCogFx)、神经肿瘤学神经学评估(NANO)和医院焦虑抑郁量表(HADS))。 预期结果:这是第一项评估taVNS是否能改善原发性中枢神经系统淋巴瘤患者疲劳症状的临床试验。如果taVNS能改善这些患者的疲劳,将显著提高生活质量。 试验注册:该研究已获得伦理委员会批准(2024 - 368 - f - S),并在德国临床试验注册中心数据库(DRKS00036323)注册。
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