Cluster Symptoms Reduction via Telephone-Based Intervention in Thai Breast Cancer Patients Undergoing 4-Cycle Adjuvant Chemotherapy: A Randomized-Controlled Trial

Background: Cluster symptoms are a common occurrence in breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. The telephone is a well-recognized, convenient device for reaching out to patients for monitoring and managing their symptoms in an efficient, prompt, and appropriate manner. Objective: To investigate the efficacy of telephone-based intervention to achieve energy conservation among breast cancer patients with the aim of alleviating fatigue, pain, sleep disturbance, and depression. Materials and Methods: The present study was a two-armed, randomized control trial conducted in the university hospital between March and September 2019. Seventy-four breast cancer patients, receiving four courses of adjuvant chemotherapy, were randomly recruited and assigned into the experimental group and the control group. One face-to-face intervention interview for energy conservation was conducted, followed by 20-minutes telephone brief counselling and assessment sessions, scheduled on day 1, 2, 7, and 14. Results: The scores for symptoms of median fatigue and pain in the experimental group were shown to be significantly reduced at the end of the study as compared to those scores within the control group (p<0.05). Similarly, scores for median sleep time and depression were greater at the end of cycle 1 and highest in cycle 2 (p<0.05, 0.001, respectively). Physical activity levels were also higher in the experimental group than in the control group in every cycle, with a statistical significance (p<0.001). Conclusion: The present study intervention demonstrated an effectiveness for the reduction of cluster symptoms. Further studies would be needed in a larger population scale in the customary, randomized controlled trial manner.