Patient case: 64-year-old female with ovarian cancer; genetic feature: BRCA1

Clinical trial: Stepping Into Survivorship: Harnessing Behavioral Economics to Improve Quality of Life in Ovarian Cancer

Summary: This research study will test whether using wearable fitness trackers with a social incentive, delivered through a game-based mobile health intervention, increases physical activity and quality of life in ovarian cancer survivors.

Detailed description: Nearly 50% of ovarian cancer survivors experience poor quality of life, fatigue, and anxiety after completing surgery and chemotherapy to treat their disease. Moreover, many ovarian cancer survivors become deconditioned during treatment; 40% report significant drops in activity during the year after diagnosis, and only 20% meet the recommended guidelines for physical activity.
  Randomized trials of interventions are urgently needed to determine whether increasing physical activity improves outcomes in ovarian cancer survivors. In other cancers, physical activity improves quality of life and mental health, while reducing the risk of cancer recurrence and death. To date, however, most studies have focused on patients with curable breast and prostate cancers. The effects of physical activity on understudied populations, including ovarian cancer survivors, are unknown. Furthermore, although ovarian cancer survivors report an interest in participating in home-based walking programs, few formal programs exist.
  Stepping into Survivorship is a randomized clinical trial designed to test the effectiveness of wearable fitness trackers with or without a game-based mobile health intervention that leverages social support to increase physical activity in ovarian cancer survivors. At the start of the study all participants will track their daily step counts using a wearable fitness tracker (e.g. Fitbit) to determine how many steps they walk in an average day. Next, they will set an increased step-goal and receive daily, individualized feedback based upon their performance.
  Participants randomized to the game-based intervention will also choose a team partner (i.e. family or friend) to receive a wearable fitness tracker and together they will track their steps, earning non-financial micro-incentives (e.g. points, levels, badges) when they achieve their collaborative goals. This game-based mobile health intervention is designed to enhance collaboration, accountability, peer support, and ultimately physical activity among ovarian cancer survivors and their friends/family members.
  This research is being done to improve participants' quality of life. The investigators hope that the use of wearable fitness trackers with or without a game-based mobile health intervention will help participants increase their physical activity and improve quality of life.

Eligibility: Inclusion Criteria:
  -  Patients will be eligible if they have newly diagnosed ovarian cancer
  -  Are ≤6 months of completing chemotherapy
  -  Read English
  -  Do not have cognitive, visual, or orthopedic impairments that would preclude participation
  -  Plan to continue treatment at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
  Exclusion Criteria:
  -  Participants will be excluded if they are already participating in an mHealth intervention
  -  Are unable to ambulate
  -  Do not have a smartphone to transmit data from the wearable tracker

Relevance to patient case: not relevant