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VR headsets tested as anxiety relief during cancer treatment
NCT ID NCT07324577
First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Jul 08, 2026 · Updated 3 times
Summary
This study tests whether wearing a virtual reality (VR) headset during daily radiation therapy can help manage anxiety in people with prostate, breast, lung, or head and neck cancer. About 54 patients will use a Meta Quest 2 headset during their treatments, and researchers will track how often it's used and how well it works. The goal is to see if VR is a practical and helpful tool for reducing stress during cancer care.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Virtual reality (VR) headset (Meta Quest 2)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a simple, non-drug way to help cancer patients feel less anxious during daily radiotherapy sessions.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-stage study (54 people) testing whether VR is even usable during treatment, not yet whether it truly reduces anxiety. The VR headset may be uncomfortable or impractical for some patients.
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 54 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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May 2026
- Expected to finish
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Feb 2029
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.
Patients: Inclusion Criteria: * Participants planned for radiation therapy for 15 or more treatments with non-neutron generating energies (10 MV or less) per study PI for prostate, breast, lung, or head and neck cancer. Neutrons have the potential to damage the VR headset device and are generated for energies above 10 MV. * Age 18 years or older at the time of consent. * Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0-33 or Karnofsky (KPS) 30-100 at the time of enrollment. * Ability to understand and the willingness to sign an IRB-approved informed consent document directly. Exclusion Criteria: * Previous radiation therapy * VR device is determined to impede the radiation dosage during the VR device simulation and treatment planning * Participants with primary brain tumors, brain metastases, and cancer involving the sinuses, orbits, nose, or ears, are excluded from this clinical trial because the VR device may obstruct the area being treated * Participants with uncontrolled inter-current illness including but not limited to psychiatric illness/social situations that would limit compliance with study requirements per treating radiation oncologist. * Participants with known epilepsy, significant motion sickness, severe uncorrected visual impairment, severe uncorrected hearing impairment, or seizures, per participant report. * Participants with skin defects, infections, or open wounds in the area where the VR device is applied (face or scalp) or in the eyes per treating radiation oncologist. * Participants with pacemakers, internal defibrillators, hearing aid, or other implanted medical device. The Meta Quest device contains magnets and components that emit magnetic/electromagnetic fields which could affect the operation of nearby electronics and medical devices. Radiation Therapists: Inclusion Criteria: * Agreement to participate after reviewing the information sheet * Radiation therapist at AHWFBCCC High Point who has treated at least one participant who enrolled on to the study and used the VR device.
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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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Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Hayworth Cancer Center
RECRUITINGHigh Point, North Carolina, 27262, United States
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