Can a morning light session boost immunotherapy? small trial aims to find out
NCT ID NCT07661966
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This pilot study tests whether using bright light therapy for an hour each morning, delivered through an iPad app, is tolerable for people with advanced melanoma or non-small cell lung cancer who are about to start immunotherapy. The idea is that synchronizing the body's internal clock might help the immune therapy work better. Only 12 participants will be enrolled, and the main goal is to see if they can stick with the light therapy routine, not yet to measure cancer outcomes.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- bright light therapy delivered via Circadian OS iPad application
- What this could lead to
- If this works, it could show that bright light therapy is a tolerable way to help align patients' body clocks, potentially improving how well immunotherapy works.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very small pilot study with only 12 people, focused on whether the therapy is tolerable, not on whether it actually improves cancer outcomes. It may not lead to any clear benefit.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 12 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Jun 2026
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Age ≥18 years. 2. Histologically confirmed diagnosis of advanced, unresectable melanoma or NSCLC. 3. Presence of measurable tumor burden. 4. Scheduled to receive first-line cancer-directed therapy with an immune checkpoint blockade-containing regimen, as monotherapy or combination (e.g. pembrolizumab, ipilimumab + nivolumab, ICB + chemotherapy). 5. ECOG performance status 0-2. 6. Able to provide informed consent. 7. Access to reliable internet connection via WiFi or personal hotspot Exclusion Criteria: 1. Previous exposure to immune checkpoint blockade. 2. Pregnant or breastfeeding. 3. Use of melatonin or pharmacologic sleep aids (e.g., zolpidem, trazodone, benzodiazepines) within 14 days prior to enrollment. 4. Diagnosis of bipolar disorder or history of mania or hypomania. 5. Active psychosis, suicidal ideation, or recent psychiatric hospitalization (\<3 months). 6. Poorly controlled seizures. 7. Chronotype classified as extremely early or extremely late, based on the Munich Chronotype Questionnaire (MSFsc \< 2:00 or \> 5:00). 8. Night shift work within the past 30 days or expected during the intervention. 9. Travel across ≥2 time zones within the past 14 days. 10. Diagnosed or suspected untreated moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea. 11. Migraine with photophobia. 12. Presence of ocular or photosensitivity conditions affecting vision (i.e. advanced bilateral cataracts not yet operated, advanced glaucoma with substantial visual field loss, optic nerve disease, ocular surgery within the past 3 months with unresolved visual symptoms, color blindness).
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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.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Weill Cornell Medicine
New York, New York, 10021, United States
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