Seaweed extract tested as chemo fatigue fighter
NCT ID NCT06855524
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tests whether fucoidan, a supplement from brown seaweed, can prevent or reduce fatigue in people with gastrointestinal or gynecologic cancers who are starting chemotherapy. About 34 participants will receive either fucoidan or a placebo daily for up to 16 weeks. Researchers will track fatigue scores and other symptoms to see if the supplement makes a difference.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- fucoidan (a dietary supplement from brown seaweed)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a natural way to reduce fatigue during chemotherapy, improving quality of life for cancer patients.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-phase pilot study with only 34 participants, so results may not apply broadly. The supplement may not outperform placebo, and its long-term safety is not yet established.
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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Phase 2
Tests whether the treatment actually works, and watches for side effects, in a larger group.
- Participants
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About 34 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Mar 2025
- Expected to finish
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Feb 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: * Age ≥ 18 years * Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance score 0 or 1 * Starting platinum-based doublet/triplet therapy for gynecologic or gastrointestinal cancer in the non-curative setting, with at least 16 weeks of chemotherapy and/or immunotherapy planned prior to registration; able to start study treatment ≤ 7 days prior to starting chemotherapy * Life expectancy at least 6 months * Hemoglobin ≥ 10 g/dL (obtained ≤ 30 days prior to registration) * Creatinine ≤ 1.5 x upper normal limit (UNL) OR calculated creatinine clearance ≥ 50 ml/min using the Cockcroft-Gault (obtained ≤ 30 days prior to registration) * Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate transaminase (AST) ≤ 1.5 x UNL; \[≤ 5 x upper limit of normal (ULN) for patients with liver involvement\] (obtained ≤ 30 days prior to registration) * Ability to complete patient questionnaires alone or with assistance and to be willing to be contacted by study staff * Provide written informed consent * Negative pregnancy test done ≤ 7 days prior to registration, for persons of childbearing potential only NOTE: If the urine test is positive or cannot be confirmed as negative, a serum pregnancy test will be required * Willing to use a highly effective method of contraception from the first dose of study medication through 30 days after the last dose of study medication, for persons of childbearing potential or persons able to father a child only * Willing to return to enrolling institution for follow-up (during the Active Monitoring Phase of the study) Exclusion Criteria: * Known hypersensitivity to fucoidan or seaweed products * Currently using any other pharmacologic agents to specifically treat fatigue including psychostimulants or antidepressants. Note: Antidepressants used to treat items other than fatigue (such as hot flashes or depression) are allowed if the patient has been on a stable dose for ≥ 1 month prior to registration and plans to continue such for 8 weeks. Exercise is allowed * Psychiatric disorder such as untreated/uncontrolled depression, manic depressive disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder or schizophrenia (defined per medical history) * Surgery that required general anesthetic ≤ 4 weeks prior to registration * Malnutrition, active infection, severe depression, significant pulmonary disease, and/or cardiovascular disease that the attending physician feels could be causing the patient's fatigue * Use of any over-the-counter herbal/dietary supplement marketed for fatigue or energy (for example, products containing ginseng, rhodiola rosea, guarana, or anything called an "adaptogen"), including current use of fucoidan * Current use of warfarin, heparin, enoxaparin, or a novel anticoagulant or known bleeding disorder/abnormal prothrombin time (PT)/partial thromboplastin time (PTT) at baseline * Current use of bevacizumab * Untreated thyroid conditions * Use of chemotherapy and/or immunotherapy ≤ 90 days prior to registration * Unwillingness to follow study related procedures * Inability to provide informed consent
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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 study's own enquiry address
This study publishes an address for enquiries. See it below .
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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
Show contact details
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Genom att skicka in godkänner du våra Användarvillkor
Study contacts
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Contact
Email: •••••@•••••
Locations
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Mayo Clinic in Arizona
RECRUITINGScottsdale, Arizona, 85259, United States
Contact Email: •••••@•••••
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