Accurate evaluation of activity status is an important part of the assessment of people with cancer. Clinician assessments currently used are valuable but have limitations; in particular, assessment only occurs when the patient attends clinic and is often subjective. Activity trackers, such as FitBits, give the opportunity to objectively assess activity status continuously, independent of clinic visits. Previous studies have shown that a reduction in 1000 steps while receiving cancer treatment is associated with an increased risk of hospitalisation but it is not known if using information from activity trackers to allow early intervention is feasible or if it can reduce admission to hospital and improve outcomes. The investigators propose a prospective feasibility study in people with advanced lung cancer or upper gastrointestinal cancers who are starting a new line of systemic anti-cancer therapy. Participants will receive a FitBit, which is a commercially available wearable activity tracker for the duration of their treatment or 4 months (whichever is shorter). Step counts will be monitored and a reduction in daily steps of \>1000 from baseline will trigger contact by the study team and an ambulatory review. Participants will not receive treatment within the context of the study.
A recent metanalysis reports that over 40% of people with cancer being treated with palliative intent have at least 1 unplanned hospital admission during treatment. Furthermore, up to 83% of people undergoing cancer treatment are likely to attend the Emergency Departments (ED). The 2019 NHS long-term plan has an emphasis on the use of digital technologies, remote monitoring to support patients, and acute ambulatory care as an alternative to ED attendance. In observational studies of people with cancer, reductions in steps counts correlate with increased symptoms and risk of hospitalisation. Therefore, the main aim of this study is to determine whether monitoring of activity and subsequent ambulatory review triggered by detecting a reduction in steps is feasible in a timely fashion within an NHS oncology centre. People with advanced lung cancer (NSCLC, SCLC) or upper gastrointestinal cancers (gastric, oesophageal or pancreatic) starting a new line of systemic anti-cancer treatment (SACT) will be recruited at The Royal Marsden Hospital (Chelsea and Sutton sites). Eligible patients will be approached by clinical teams in the lung and gastrointestinal cancer outpatient clinics. Participants who are due to start a new line of SACT will be asked to wear a FitBit activity tracker (resembling a watch). Baseline median daily steps count will be calculated prior starting SACT for those patients who wear the device for ideally 7 consecutive days, which must include both weekend and week days. The device can measure step counts and heart rate. The FitBit will be monitored remotely by the study team once a day (week days only) using a web-based platform called Fitabase and will document cases where the step count reduction is \>1000 from baseline. Step count and average heart rate data will be downloaded at the beginning of each treatment cycle and a summary reported in the MACRO database. Fitabase is a cloud-based data management platform, which is able to access data which has been synchronised from individual FitBits. Data can be collected anonymously by associating the device data with a study identification number. Fitabase does not collect personally identifiable data. No global positioning system (GPS) data or other data is collected. Passwords are encrypted. For this feasibility study, activity tracking will take place on working week days only. A reduction in \>1000 steps from the baseline median step count will trigger a telephone call by a member of the study team. If the fall in steps was not due to non-compliance/malfunction of the device, the participant will be invited to attend the Clinical Assessment Unit for an ambulatory review. Participants' acceptance of advice to attend for a review will be documented. The diagnosis (and clinical necessity as assessed by a clinician), need for hospitalisation or not, and length of stay will be collected. Further investigations or management will be determined by clinical need following assessment by a member of the study team. If no abnormality is noted the trigger for subsequent phone calls will be adjusted by 500 steps for that patient ie \>1500 steps. If no abnormality is found after a second review, further reviews will only take place after a phone call if there is clinical concern. Participants will be informed at the beginning of the study to use usual processes if they feel unwell at any time eg calling the Royal Marsden Macmillan Hotline (RMMH). Participants will be reviewed at the start of each new cycle of treatment (+/- 7 days) by a member of the study team to find out if they have been hospitalised and for how long. Physician-assessed PS, C reactive protein (CRP), albumin, handgrip strength (HGS), Timed Up and Go (TUaG) will be measured at the first study visit, and skeletal muscle area (SMA), skeletal muscle index (SMI) and muscle radiation attenuation (MRA) will be measured from the standard of care baseline CT scan. In addition the investigators will also collect height and weight demographics, and perform questionnaire-based nutritional (PG-SGA) and quality of life (QoL) (FACT-G, EORTC-q30C) assessments. To assess changes in muscle quality and function, HGS, PS, and TUaG will be measured +/- 14 days from each standard of care CT scan. The participant will also undertake QoL and nutrition questionnaires as per baseline investigation. Weight will be recorded. The CT scan will be used to calculate SMA, SMI and MRA. At the end of the study, 5-8 participants will be invited for a focus group to understand their acceptance and experience of remote activity monitoring while undertaking cancer treatment.
Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Enrollment
50
Participants will be given a wearable activity tracker and their daily step count recorded. If there is a reduction from baseline of over 1000 steps, the participant will be contacted and an ambulatory review organised if the reduction is not due to a device compliance issue
Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust - London and Surrey
London, United Kingdom
Feasibility of monitoring reductions in step count in people with advanced lung cancer or upper gastrointestinal cancers starting systemic anti-cancer therapy.
Feasibility of step count monitoring will be determined by measuring the proportion of participants for whom step count was successfully monitored (step count checked for at least 4 out 5 weekdays) for at least 80% of the treatment weeks during the study period. Successful monitoring is defined as a member of the study team logging in to the Fitabase system to review the step count. If 80% of participants are monitored for 80% of the observational time (from the start until the end of treatment - either at completion or if treatment is stopped), this will be considered feasible.
Time frame: Analysis 4 months after last patient recruited
Feasibility of undertaking a timely ambulatory review, of participants in whom a reduction of steps is detected
Feasibility of a timely ambulatory review will be determined by measuring the proportion of participants who are invited for an ambulatory review and attend within 24 hours. If 70% of participants invited for a review attend, this will be considered feasible.
Time frame: Analysis 4 months after last patient recruited
Participant compliance with use of activity monitor
Percentage compliance with wearable activity trackers (WAT) will be defined as wearing the device for at least 70% of waking hours. It is assumed for the purposes of this study that participants are awake between 0700hrs to 2200hrs. Compliance can be assumed if the device is able to measure heart rate during these hours, which can be assessed from the daily heart rate graph.
Time frame: Analysis 4 months after last patient recruited
Utility of monitoring steps counts as a trigger for ambulatory assessment for the identification of new or worsening adverse events in people with cancer.
The utility of monitoring steps counts for the identification of new or worsening adverse events in people with cancer will be assessed by recording the number of clinical reviews triggered by step count.
Time frame: Analysis 4 months after last patient recruited
Sensitivity of monitoring steps counts for the identification of new or worsening adverse events in people with cancer
The sensitivity of monitoring steps counts for the identification of new or worsening adverse events in people with cancer will be assessed by recording how many of the triggered ambulatory assessments were deemed clinically appropriated by the assessing clinician.
Time frame: Analysis 4 months after last patient recruited
Number of hospitalisation episodes.
The total number of hospitalisation episodes will be recorded, including all WAT-triggered ambulatory reviews and those that occur outside of the study visits
Time frame: Analysis 4 months after last patient recruited
Proportion of hospitalisation episodes associated with WAT-triggered ambulatory reviews.
The proportion of hospitalisation episodes that were WAT-triggered clinical reviews, including those with no detected abnormality, will be compared to the number of episodes that were not associated with a WAT-triggered review.
Time frame: Analysis 4 months after last patient recruited
Acceptability of remote activity tracking
Acceptability of remote activity tracking will be determined by assessing the qualitative patient experience of undergoing remote monitoring as determined by focus group interview
Time frame: At study completion, approximately 1 year after beginning recruitment
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