information for practice

news, new scholarship & more from around the world


advanced search

Prevention of quality-of-life deterioration with light therapy is associated with changes in fatigue in women with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy

Abstract

Purpose  

During chemotherapy, women with breast cancer not only experience poor quality of life (QOL), they also have little exposure
to bright light, which has been shown to be associated with depression, fatigue, and poor sleep in other chronic illnesses.
This study examined whether increased light exposure would have a positive effect on QOL.

Methods  

Thirty-nine women with stage I–III breast cancer scheduled to receive ≥4 cycles of chemotherapy were randomized to a bright
white light (BWL, n = 23) or dim red light (DRL, n = 16) treatment group. Data were collected before (baseline) and during cycles 1 and 4 of chemotherapy. Light was administered
via a light box (Litebook®, Ltd.). QOL was assessed with the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast (FACT-B) and the Functional Outcomes of
Sleep Questionnaire (FOSQ).

Results  

Compared with baseline, the DRL group demonstrated significant decline in QOL during the treatment weeks of both cycles (all
ps < 0.02), whereas the BWL group had no significant decline (all ps > 0.05). Mixed model analyses revealed that there was a group-by-time interaction for FOSQ at the treatment week of cycle
4, and this interaction was mediated by fatigue.

Conclusion  

The data suggest that increased exposure to bright light during chemotherapy may prevent the decline in QOL via preventing
the increase in fatigue.

  • Content Type Journal Article
  • Pages 1-6
  • DOI 10.1007/s11136-012-0243-2
  • Authors
    • Neelum Jeste, Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive 0733, La Jolla, CA 92093-0733, USA
    • Lianqi Liu, Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive 0733, La Jolla, CA 92093-0733, USA
    • Michelle Rissling, SDSU/UCSD Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, San Diego, CA, USA
    • Vera Trofimenko, Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive 0733, La Jolla, CA 92093-0733, USA
    • Loki Natarajan, Department of Family and Preventative Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
    • Barbara A. Parker, Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
    • Sonia Ancoli-Israel, Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive 0733, La Jolla, CA 92093-0733, USA