Trial reportBMC cancer2020
Efficacy and safety of bupropion in cancer-related fatigue, a randomized double blind placebo controlled clinical trial.
Trial report in BMC cancer, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 27 citations in OpenAlex.
- Guideline for Medication Management of Distressing Symptoms in Older Patients Receiving End-of-Life Palliative Care.Journal of evidence-based medicine · 2026Guideline
- Pharmacological Interventions for the Management of Cancer-Related Fatigue Among Cancer Survivors: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Integrative cancer therapiesPooled it
- Circulating markers of NADH-reductive stress correlate with mitochondrial disease severity.The Journal of clinical investigation · 2021Trial
- Chronic Fatigue in Cancer Survivorship: Psychiatry Versus Oncology or Psychiatry with Oncology?Current oncology reports · 2025Review
- Vitamin D and cancer-related fatigue in elderly patients: mechanisms and therapeutic insights-a narrative review.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Review
- Article
- Correlates of Cancer-Related Fatigue among Colorectal Cancer Patients Undergoing Postoperative Adjuvant Therapy Based on the Theory of Unpleasant Symptoms.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2022Article
- Review
- Use of Contrave, Naltrexone with Bupropion, Bupropion, or Naltrexone and Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events: A Systematic Literature Review.Diabetes, metabolic syndrome and obesity : targets and therapy · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
objectivesCancer-related fatigue (CRF) is one of the most prevalent complications experienced by cancer patients during and after the process of treatment. Despite conducting a lot of studies, there is no approved therapy to help manage CRF. This study aims to investigate the efficacy of bupropion on CRF. MATERIALS AND
methodsIn this double-blind randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial, a total of 30 eligible cancer patients suffering from fatigue were randomly divided into two groups (15 patients in each group). Bupropion was administered 75 mg/day for the first three days and 150 mg/day (divided in two doses) till the end of the study at week 6. Fatigue as the primary outcome was measured by BFI (Brief Fatigue Inventory) and FACIT-Fatigue (Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy) scales. Secondary outcomes included HADS (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale) and performance status (PS) measured by Karnofsky and ECOG (Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group) scales. Assessments were done at baseline, end of the second and sixth week.
resultsThere was no significant difference between placebo and bupropion at baseline and the end of second week. Significant difference was seen between two groups at the end of week six (P = 0.006 based on BFI) in favor of bupropion. In-group assessment showed improvement in fatigue levels in both groups during study time (P = 0.000 based on BFI for both bupropion and placebo). Secondary outcomes (e.g., HADS and PS) were not different at baseline and the end of second week. However, at the end of week six, the difference was significant in favor of bupropion.
conclusionA six-week trial of bupropion reduces the CRF and improves the PS of cancer patients.
trial registrationCurrent Controlled Trials IRCT20090613002027N12, registration date: 2018-06-01.
Indexed as
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.