# Systematic Light Exposure to treat Cancer-Related Fatigue in Breast Cancer Patients

> **NIH NIH R01** · ICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI · 2020 · $700,595

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Cancer related fatigue (CRF) is persistent exhaustion related to cancer and/or its treatment. CRF is the
most severe during treatment and can severely interfere with activities of daily living. Pharmacologic
agents to treat CRF have been studied but there is insufficient evidence to recommend their use. Non-
pharmacological interventions for CRF have also been studied but are costly to implement and involve
significant patient burden particularly among those in active treatment. Given the clinical impact of CRF,
the goal of this project is to investigate a novel low-cost/low-burden intervention: systematic light
exposure (sLE) to treat CRF. Two hundred forty-eight breast cancer (BC) patients undergoing adjuvant
chemotherapy will be recruited from Mount Sinai Medical Center, Roosevelt Hospital, and Memorial
Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and randomized to one of two conditions: bright white light (BWL) or dim
red light (DRL), a common comparison condition in light studies. The BWL intervention consists of
exposure to full spectrum bright light whereas the DRL condition will involve exposure to less intense
red light (< 50 lux). Both groups will self-administer 30 minutes of light from identically appearing boxes
daily throughout 4 cycles of chemotherapy. Outcomes will be assessed through standardized subjective
and objective measures at eight separate time points. The study will specifically address
recommendations made for interventions for CRF from the NCI Clinical Trials Planning meeting
(JNCI,2013).The proposed study will be the first large multisite randomized control trial (RCT) to: 1)
determine if sLE affects CRF among BC patients undergoing adjuvant chemotherapy; 2) investigate
whether sLE improves sleep and depressive symptoms and normalizes circadian activity and diurnal
cortisol rhythms; 3) explore the possible mediational roles of sleep, circadian activity/cortisol rhythms,
and depressive symptoms 4) test and intervention that can be widely and inexpensively disseminated
with no harm to patients; and 5) address areas of investigation identified by the NCI as a top priority.
This RCT will have major

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9927596
- **Project number:** 5R01CA207446-04
- **Recipient organization:** ICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI
- **Principal Investigator:** William H Redd
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $700,595
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-05-17 → 2022-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9927596

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9927596, Systematic Light Exposure to treat Cancer-Related Fatigue in Breast Cancer Patients (5R01CA207446-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9927596. Licensed CC0.

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