Research project

Methylphenidate versus placebo for fatigue in advanced cancer (MePFAC)

Lead researcher:

Professor Alison Richardson
Research funder:

National Institute of Health and Care Research
Status:

Not active

Project overview

The problem being addressed by this research proposal is "What is the clinical effectiveness of methylphenidate (MPH) in the treatment of cancer-related fatigue in patients receiving palliative care?"
Objectives:
1. To compare FACIT-F fatigue score in patients receiving methylphenidate with patients
receiving placebo after six weeks’ treatment
2. To compare secondary outcomes between patients receiving methylphenidate and placebo
3. To compare adverse effects in patients receiving methylphenidate and placebo
4. To compare the health care resource use and costs associated with methylphenidate and usual care respectively.

The proposed research will contribute to our limited knowledge of how best to provide care to patients with incurable cancer and demonstrate how a drug trial can be successfully conducted in the context of community and specialist palliative care settings.
The team is led by Professor Patrick Stone based in the Marie Curie Palliative Care Research Department at University College London.