Effects of Immersive Virtual Reality and Relaxation Video on Symptom Severity, Distress, and Quality of Life in Lung Cancer Patients During Initial Chemotherapy Cycles: A Three-Arm Randomised Controlled Trial.
4 affiliations
- 1Faculty of Nursing, Hacettepe University, Sıhhiye Campus, 06100 Ankara, Türkiye.
- 2Department of Medical Oncology, Hacettepe University Oncology Hospital, 06230 Ankara, Türkiye.
- 3Department of Medical Oncology, Oncology Hospital, Ankara Bilkent City Hospital, 06800 Ankara, Türkiye.
- 4Department of Medical Oncology, Oncology Hospital, Ankara Etlik City Hospital, 06170 Ankara, Türkiye.
Abstract
Background/objectives
To examine the effects of immersive virtual reality (VR) and a theme-matched relaxation video (RV) on symptom severity, distress, and quality of life in lung cancer patients.Methods
In this open-label, three-arm, parallel-group randomised controlled trial, 315 patients were allocated (1:1:1) to the VR (n = 106), RV (n = 104), or control (CG; n = 105) group. During the first two chemotherapy cycles, the VR and RV groups were assigned two 20 min sessions of immersive nature-themed VR or theme-matched RV, while the CG received routine care alone. The primary outcome domain was symptom severity, assessed through within-session changes in ten individual Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS) symptom scores; distress and quality of life were secondary outcomes. Data were analysed with linear mixed models, and between-group differences are reported with Bonferroni-adjusted 95% confidence intervals (CI).Results
Compared with the CG, the within-session improvement was greater for eight of the ten ESAS symptoms with VR and for five with RV; the largest differences were for well-being (VR 1.26 points, 95% CI 0.98 to 1.53; RV 0.76, 0.49 to 1.03), with smaller differences for tiredness, depression, and anxiety. Distress also decreased more with VR (1.04, 0.73 to 1.34) and RV (0.73, 0.42 to 1.03) than in the CG. VR improved more than RV for well-being (0.50, 0.22 to 0.77), tiredness (0.47, 0.16 to 0.79), and distress (0.31, 0.002 to 0.62). No intervention-specific effect emerged for nausea, lack of appetite, or quality of life.Conclusions
Compared with routine care, two sessions of VR or RV improved acute symptoms, mainly well-being, tiredness, depression, and anxiety, and reduced distress, with no intervention-specific effect on quality of life. The additional benefit of VR was small and, for the ESAS symptoms, below the minimal clinically important difference, so RV may be a practical and accessible option.Study registration
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06863623.
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BibTeX
@article{baysoy2026effects,
title = {{Effects of Immersive Virtual Reality and Relaxation Video on Symptom Severity, Distress, and Quality of Life in Lung Cancer Patients During Initial Chemotherapy Cycles: A Three-Arm Randomised Controlled Trial.}},
author = {Kadir Baysoy and Nur Izgu and Leyla Ozdemir and Fatma Alev Turker and Dogan Uncu and Berna Oksuzoglu},
journal = {Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland)},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/healthcare14203394},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42940439},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Effects of Immersive Virtual Reality and Relaxation Video on Symptom Severity, Distress, and Quality of Life in Lung Cancer Patients During Initial Chemotherapy Cycles: A Three-Arm Randomised Controlled Trial.
AU - Kadir Baysoy
AU - Nur Izgu
AU - Leyla Ozdemir
AU - Fatma Alev Turker
AU - Dogan Uncu
AU - Berna Oksuzoglu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/12
JO - Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland)
DO - 10.3390/healthcare14203394
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42940439
AB - Background/objectives To examine the effects of immersive virtual reality (VR) and a theme-matched relaxation video (RV) on symptom severity, distress, and quality of life in lung cancer patients.Methods In this open-label, three-arm, parallel-group randomised controlled trial, 315 patients were allocated (1:1:1) to the VR (n = 106), RV (n = 104), or control (CG; n = 105) group. During the first two chemotherapy cycles, the VR and RV groups were assigned two 20 min sessions of immersive nature-themed VR or theme-matched RV, while the CG received routine care alone. The primary outcome domain was symptom severity, assessed through within-session changes in ten individual Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS) symptom scores; distress and quality of life were secondary outcomes. Data were analysed with linear mixed models, and between-group differences are reported with Bonferroni-adjusted 95% confidence intervals (CI).Results Compared with the CG, the within-session improvement was greater for eight of the ten ESAS symptoms with VR and for five with RV; the largest differences were for well-being (VR 1.26 points, 95% CI 0.98 to 1.53; RV 0.76, 0.49 to 1.03), with smaller differences for tiredness, depression, and anxiety. Distress also decreased more with VR (1.04, 0.73 to 1.34) and RV (0.73, 0.42 to 1.03) than in the CG. VR improved more than RV for well-being (0.50, 0.22 to 0.77), tiredness (0.47, 0.16 to 0.79), and distress (0.31, 0.002 to 0.62). No intervention-specific effect emerged for nausea, lack of appetite, or quality of life.Conclusions Compared with routine care, two sessions of VR or RV improved acute symptoms, mainly well-being, tiredness, depression, and anxiety, and reduced distress, with no intervention-specific effect on quality of life. The additional benefit of VR was small and, for the ESAS symptoms, below the minimal clinically important difference, so RV may be a practical and accessible option.Study registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06863623.
SN - 2227-9032
ER -