Can a smartphone app ease cancer pain? duke study tests new tool
NCT ID NCT05686122
First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Jun 26, 2026
Summary
This study tested a mobile app called PainPac designed to help people with colorectal cancer manage pain. The app provides coping strategies and tracks symptoms in real time. Researchers enrolled 62 adults with stage I-IV colorectal cancer to see if the app was easy to use and acceptable to patients. The goal was to gather data for a larger future trial, not to prove the app reduces pain.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only — not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- PainPac mobile app (behavioral pain coping intervention)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could lead to a scalable, low-cost tool to help cancer patients manage pain at home.
- What could go wrong
- This was a small, early feasibility study (62 participants) with no control group, so it cannot prove the app actually reduces pain. Results may not apply to all patients.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
-
Duke Cancer Institute
Durham, North Carolina, 27705, United States
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