Video games prescribed: new study tests exergaming to ease cancer fatigue
NCT ID NCT04632654
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests a 6-week program called PAfitME that uses motion-controlled exergames (like Nintendo Switch) to help head and neck cancer survivors manage fatigue and pain after finishing treatment. 150 participants will be randomly assigned to either the exergaming program or a standard survivorship education group. The goal is to see if personalized, fun physical activity can improve energy, reduce pain, and boost quality of life.
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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 150 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Aug 2020
- Expected to finish
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Nov 2026
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.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: To be eligible for this study, patients must be: 1. diagnosed with head and neck cancer (Tumor sites in the head and neck area); 2. 18 years or older; 3. able to understand English; 4. able to communicate; 5. have a Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) score of \>= 60%; 6. be cleared by their provider to resume low to moderate intensity PA; 7. have fatigue or pain of ≥moderate severity; and A KPS score of \>= 60% has been used in previous exercise trials in the HNC population. This is equal to ECog scores ≤ 2. Moderate fatigue or pain severity is defined as a worst score in the past week of \>= 4 on a 0-10 scale. Patients receiving immunotherapy are not excluded from participating in the study. Exclusion Criteria: Patients will be excluded if they 1. are hospitalized; 2. are in hospice care; 3. have a history of seizures or loss of consciousness; or 4. are cognitively impaired, defined as making ≥3 errors on a validated 6-item cognitive screener (3 items identifying the current year, month, and day; 3 items recalling 3 pre-selected objects).
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Genom att skicka in godkänner du våra Användarvillkor
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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University of Alabama at Birmingham
RECRUITINGBirmingham, Alabama, 35294, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Can a dental assistant keep cancer Patients' mouths healthier during radiation?
- Why do Non-Smokers get head and neck cancer? scientists probe tumor DNA
- Re-irradiation plus cetuximab targets head and neck tumors that return
- Sharper tumor maps: PET scans could tighten radiation beams
- Five days of radiation instead of weeks: a new test for head and neck cancer
- Can an online program ease the burden on cancer caregivers?