Integrative Medicine at Home (IM@Home) for Cancer
(IMPROVE Trial)
Recruiting in Palo Alto (17 mi)
+6 other locations
Age: 18+
Sex: Any
Travel: May Be Covered
Time Reimbursement: Varies
Trial Phase: Academic
Recruiting
Sponsor: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Disqualifiers: Cognitive impairment, Unwilling to accept randomization, others
No Placebo Group
Trial Summary
What is the purpose of this trial?The overarching long-term goal of the Integrative Medicine for Patient-reported Outcomes Values and Experience (IMPROVE) research program is to evaluate whether integrating a virtual mind-body programming, Integrative Medicine at Home (IM@Home), will improve patient perceived values, outcomes, and experiences as they undergo systemic cancer treatment such as chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiotherapy, targeted agents, cytoreductive surgery.
Do I need to stop my current medications to join the trial?
The trial information does not specify whether you need to stop taking your current medications. It seems likely that you can continue your current treatments, as the trial is for patients actively receiving cancer treatment.
What data supports the effectiveness of the treatment Integrative Medicine at Home (IM@Home) for Cancer?
Integrative medicine, which combines conventional treatments with complementary therapies, has been shown to help cancer patients better tolerate toxic therapies and improve their quality of life. A study on women with ovarian cancer found that integrative medicine could positively affect quality of life and reduce chemotherapy toxicity.
12345Is the Integrative Medicine at Home (IM@Home) program safe for cancer patients?
Research on telehealth and home-based care for cancer patients, like the IM@Home program, suggests that these approaches can improve safety by allowing patients to stay at home while receiving treatment, which can enhance their well-being and reduce healthcare costs.
678910How is the Integrative Medicine at Home (IM@Home) treatment for cancer unique compared to other treatments?
The IM@Home treatment is unique because it combines remote foot temperature monitoring with virtual mind-body fitness classes, focusing on enhancing usual care by addressing both physical and mental well-being. This integrative approach aims to help patients better tolerate cancer therapies and actively participate in their own health improvement, which is different from traditional treatments that may not address emotional and spiritual needs.
34111213Eligibility Criteria
This trial is for adults over 18 with certain cancers (like head and neck, lung, gynecologic, or melanoma) who are currently undergoing treatment or have recently finished radiotherapy. They should be experiencing fatigue and have a life expectancy of more than six months. Participants must speak English and not have cognitive impairments that affect communication.Inclusion Criteria
I am 18 years old or older.
I have experienced significant fatigue, rating it 4 or higher in the past week.
I have been diagnosed with cancer in my head, neck, chest, reproductive organs, skin, or breast.
+4 more
Exclusion Criteria
I am mentally capable of understanding and responding to study assessments without needing a legal representative.
I am not enrolled in any other trials focusing on symptom management with integrative medicine.
I am not open to being randomly assigned to a treatment group.
Trial Timeline
Screening
Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial
2-4 weeks
Treatment
Participants undergo systemic cancer treatment such as chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiotherapy, targeted agents, cytoreductive surgery, and participate in the IM@Home virtual mind-body program
12 weeks
Weekly virtual sessions
Follow-up
Participants are monitored for safety and effectiveness after treatment
4 weeks
Participant Groups
The study is testing the IM@Home program to see if it can ease symptoms like tiredness, pain, or sleep issues in cancer patients. It involves virtual group classes that use mind-body practices such as mental focus exercises, controlled breathing, and body movements.
2Treatment groups
Experimental Treatment
Group I: IM@HomeExperimental Treatment1 Intervention
Participants with head and neck tumors, thoracic tumors, gynecological tumors, melanoma, breast cancer, or ovarian cancer
Group II: Enhanced usual careExperimental Treatment1 Intervention
Participants with head and neck tumors, thoracic tumors, gynecological tumors, melanoma, breast cancer, or ovarian cancer
Enhanced usual care is already approved in United States for the following indications:
🇺🇸 Approved in United States as Podimetrics SmartMat for:
- Prevention of diabetic foot ulcers
Find a Clinic Near You
Research Locations NearbySelect from list below to view details:
Memorial Sloan Kettering Monmouth (Limited Protocol Activities)Middletown, NJ
Memorial Sloan Kettering Basking Ridge (Limited Protocol Activities)Basking Ridge, NJ
Memorial Sloan Kettering Nassau (Limited Protocol Activities)Uniondale, NY
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer CenterNew York, NY
More Trial Locations
Loading ...
Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer CenterLead Sponsor
References
Survival of patients with advanced and recurrent ovarian cancer treated using integrative medicine in Malaysia: A case series. [2020]This case series describes the survival outcomes of patients who underwent integrative medicine (IM) protocol for ovarian cancer, a treatment protocol, that integrated a carefully selected set of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) into the conventional treatment for ovarian cancers.
Electronic Registration in Complementary/Homeopathic Medical Practice with Identification of 'Best Homeopathic Cases': A Pilot Study. [2019]Practice-based registration could identify 'general' and 'homeopathic' prognostic factors for therapeutic success in patients who seek complementary and alternative medicine (CAM)/homeopathic treatment. Identification of 'best homeopathic cases' within a database could inform clinical research and improve homeopathic practice.
The bridge between patient and doctor: the shift from CAM to integrative medicine. [2018]Integrative medicine (IM) has become a major challenge for doctors and nurses, as well as psychologists and many other disciplines involved in the endeavor to help patients to better tolerate the burden of toxic therapies and give patients tools so they can actively participate in their "salutogenesis." IM encompasses psycho-oncology, acupuncture, and physical and mental exercises to restore vital capacities lost due to toxic therapies; furthermore, it aims to replenish nutritional and metabolic deficits during and after cancer treatment. IM gains an ever increasing importance in the face of the rapidly growing number of cancer survivors demanding more than just evidence-based diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. IM has to prove its value and justification by filling the gap between unproven methods of alternative medicine, still used by many cancer patients, and academic conventional medicine, which often does not satisfy the emotional and spiritual needs of cancer patients.
Integrative Medicine in Residency: Feasibility and Effectiveness of an Online Program. [2022]Online curricular interventions in residency have been proposed to address challenges of time, cost, and curriculum consistency. This study is designed to determine the feasibility and effectiveness of a longitudinal, multisite online curriculum in integrative medicine (IMR) for residents.
A prospective, randomized trial of integrative medicine for women with ovarian cancer. [2021]Despite increased use of integrative medicine in cancer therapy, little data exist on its efficacy. This prospective, randomized, pilot trial sought to evaluate the feasibility of combined modality integrative medicine (CM-IM) in women with ovarian cancer (OvCA) and evaluate its effects on quality of life (QoL), chemotherapy toxicity and immunologic profiles.
Families' responses to chemotherapy by an ambulatory infusion pump. [2007]A home ambulatory infusion program for cancer patients receiving chemotherapy has been found to be a cost-effective means of administering certain medications in a safe manner while increasing patient control and autonomy and the quality of life for patients and families.
Mobile health for drug dose optimisation. [2020]Mobile health monitoring in the management of long term conditions has potential benefits for patient care, especially when coupled with active adjustment of medication dosage. We report studies of patient-led self-titration of oral glucose lowering medication (OGLM) and insulin in type 2 diabetes, and dose adjustments (including dose increases) in oral chemotherapy for metastatic colorectal or breast cancer. Monitoring compliance was high in each case, and the feasibility of patients self-titrating OGLM or insulin following an agreed treatment plan was demonstrated. Chemotherapy dose increases supported by detailed toxicity profiles collected by phone have also been demonstrated.
Clinical Relevance of the First Domomedicine Platform Securing Multidrug Chronotherapy Delivery in Metastatic Cancer Patients at Home: The inCASA European Project. [2018]Telehealth solutions can improve the safety of ambulatory chemotherapy, contributing to the maintenance of patients at their home, hence improving their well-being, all the while reducing health care costs. There is, however, need for a practicable multilevel monitoring solution, encompassing relevant outputs involved in the pathophysiology of chemotherapy-induced toxicity. Domomedicine embraces the delivery of complex care and medical procedures at the patient's home based on modern technologies, and thus it offers an integrated approach for increasing the safety of cancer patients on chemotherapy.
The Medical Care Continuity (MCC) project. A pilot study of video-assisted home care within the eTEN European Community program. The Italian experience. [2021]This study aimed to use an integrated system (Medical Care Continuity (MCC) system) consisting of computer, video telephone, and a high-definition camera to monitor at home chemotherapy side effects in cancer outpatients.
Skin surface temperature rhythms as potential circadian biomarkers for personalized chronotherapeutics in cancer patients. [2021]Chronotherapeutics involve the administration of treatments according to circadian rhythms. Circadian timing of anti-cancer medications has been shown to improve treatment tolerability up to fivefold and double efficacy in experimental and clinical studies. However, the physiological and the molecular components of the circadian timing system (CTS), as well as gender, critically affect the success of a standardized chronotherapeutic schedule. In addition, a wrongly timed therapy or an excessive drug dose disrupts the CTS. Therefore, a non-invasive approach to accurately detect and monitor circadian rhythms is needed for a dynamic assessment of the CTS in order to personalize chronomodulated drug delivery schedule in cancer patients. Since core body temperature is a robust circadian biomarker, we recorded temperature at multiple locations on the skin of the upper chest and back of controls and cancer patients continuously. Variability in the circadian phase existed among patch locations in individual subjects over the course of 2-6 days, demonstrating the need to monitor multiple skin temperature locations to determine the precise circadian phase. Additionally, we observed that locations identified by infrared imaging as relatively cool had the largest 24 h temperature variations. Disruptions in skin temperature rhythms during treatment were found, pointing to the need to continually assess circadian timing and personalize chronotherapeutic schedules.
Integrative medicine in residency education: developing competency through online curriculum training. [2022]The Integrative Medicine in Residency (IMR) program, a 200-hour Internet-based, collaborative educational initiative was implemented in 8 family medicine residency programs and has shown a potential to serve as a national model for incorporating training in integrative/complementary/alternative medicine in graduate medical education.
Integrative medicine in residency: assessing curricular needs in eight programs. [2022]Integrative medicine in residency (IMR) is a competency-based online program designed to incorporate a core curriculum in integrative medicine (IM) into established residency training in family medicine. Results of a needs assessment survey developed to guide this curriculum design are presented and discussed.
Teaching Integrative Medicine to Residents: A Focus on Populations Rather Than Individual Patients. [2015]Integrative medicine (IM) is by its very definition patient centric: "It reaffirms the importance of the relationship between practitioner and patient, focuses on the whole person, is informed by evidence, and makes use of all appropriate therapeutic approaches." Best methods for teaching IM in residency have not been well described.