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NCT Number: NCT06248450

Medical YOga dUring CANcer Treatment in a Digital or Physical Setting - a PREFERensbased Study

To enhance the implementation of yoga in cancer care, studies that explore patients with cancer preferences for the execution of yoga, effects, and the experience of participating in group yoga sessions online compared to in-person sessions is required. The aim of the YouCanPrefer-study is to explore preferences, expectations, implementation, experiences, and effects of participating in in-person group yoga sessions at a yoga studio compared to participating in online-yoga at home for patients with cancer undergoing oncological treatment. Additionally, the aim is to study health-related outcomes of yoga. Patients diagnosed with cancer undergoing oncological treatment at two hospitals in Sweden will be included in the study. A preference-based allocation will be used, participants chose self if they want to participate in in-person yoga at a studio or in yoga online. Regardless of allocation, the yoga sessions will take place in a group setting once a week for a duration of 12 weeks. All participants will also have access to a yoga application on their tablets or cell phones, with a recommendation to engage in self-guided yoga for at least 10 minutes per day.

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Key information

Conditions

Cancer Neoplasms

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Department of oncology, university hospital

Linköping, 58185, Sweden

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Diagnosed with cancer and scheduled for or initiated oncological treatment at an oncology clinic.
  • Received written information about the study.
  • Willing to participate in the study and able to follow the protocol.
  • Understanding and expressing themselves in Swedish.
  • Age ≥ 18 years.
  • Provided informed consent.

Exclusion criteria

  • Patients with severe cognitive impairments such as dementia and serious psychiatric illness.
  • Patients with significant physical disabilities that may hinder yoga.
  • Patients with difficulties completing questionnaires.
  • Expected survival of less than 3 months.

Treatment and study plan

Medical Yoga

Other

Medical yoga is a therapeutic form of Kundalini yoga led by a certified yoga instructor that uses different standardized yoga programs with a combination of physical postures, breathingexercises, and relaxation/meditation.

Primary outcomes

  1. Patients preferences to yoga during oncological treatment

    Time frame: Baseline, 3 months and 6 months

    Interviews on choice of yoga setting: physical or digital

Secondary outcomes

  1. Health-related quality of life

    Time frame: Baseline, 3 months and 6 months

    Health-related quality of life will be assessed by The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer, Quality of life Questionnaire C30 (EORTC QLQ-C30) which consists of a 30-item questionnaire, covering a global health status/quality of life (QoL) scale, five functioning scales, three symptom scales and six items concerning symptoms. All scales and single-item measures were transformed to scores in the range 0-100. A higher score on the global status scale and the functional scales denotes a high level of health and functioning, while a higher score on the symptomatic scale denotes a high level of symptom burden

  2. Health

    Time frame: Baseline, 3 months and 6 months

    Health will be assessed with EuroQoL which consist of two parts: EuroQoL 5 dimensions 5 levels (EQ 5D 5L) and EuroQoL Visual Analogue Scale (EQ-VAS). EQ-5D 5L comprises five dimensions: mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression. Each dimension has 5 levels: no problems, slight problems, moderate problems, severe problems and extreme problems. The digits for the five dimensions can be combined into a 5-digit number that describes the patient's health state.

    The EQ-VAS records the patient's self-rated health on a vertical visual analogue scale where the endpoints are labelled 'The best health you can image' =100 and 'The worst health you can image' =0.

  3. Anxiety and depression

    Time frame: Baseline, 3 months and 6 months

    The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) will be used to measure anxiety and depression. The scale consists of 14 items, with seven items related to anxiety and seven related to depression. Each item is scored on a likert scale ranging from 0 to 3, with responses indicating the severity of the symptom from 0=no symptoms to 3= severe symptoms.

  4. Fatigue

    Time frame: Baseline, 3 months and 6 months

    Fatigue will be assessed with the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI). The questionnaire consists of 20 items, measuring five subscales of MFI: General, Physical and Mental Fatigue, Reduced Motivation and Reduced Activity. Each item is scored on a likert scale ranging from 1 to 5. Higher scores indicate higher levels of fatigue.

  5. Sleep

    Time frame: Baseline, 3 months and 6 months

    Sleep will be measured with Minimal Insomnia Symptom Scale (MISS). The questionnaire consists of 3 items. Each item is scored on a likert scale ranging from 0 to 4, with responses indicating the severity of the symptom from 0=no symptoms to 5= severe symptoms.

  6. Stress

    Time frame: Baseline, 3 months and 6 months

    Stress will be measured by the questionnaire The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) which measures general stress and coping capabilities. The instrument has 14 items with 4 alternatives to each item. A higher score indicates higher stress. Each item minimum 0 and maximum 4.

  7. Physical Activity

    Time frame: Baseline, 3 months and 6 months

    Accelerometer

  8. Adherence to the yoga sessions and the application

    Time frame: At 3 months (After completion of the intervention)

    Attendance at yoga-class and time spent (minutes) using the application

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Linkoeping University

Other Gov

Collaborators

  • Ryhov County Hospital
  • University Hospital, Linkoeping

Registry information

Official study title

Medical Yoga During Cancer Treatment in a Digital or Physical Setting - a Preference-based Study

Acronym: YouCanPrefer

Important dates

Study start
2023
Primary completion
2025
Study completion
2025
First posted
Feb 8, 2024
Registry last updated
Mar 6, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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