Fatigue, Mood, and Sleep, During Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy: A Pilot Case Control Study

The goal of this pilot study was to compare longitudinal changes in fatigue, depressive symptoms, sleep, and activity in women (n = 10) undergoing intraperitoneal (IP) versus intravenous (IV) chemotherapy for ovarian cancer. Fatigue and depressive symptoms were assessed via self -report and sleep and activity via wrist actigraphy in the week before and the week after the first infusion. Both groups demonstrated increases in fatigue and depressive symptoms, declines in sleep, reduced daytime activity, and decreased rhythmicity of sleep/activity patterns (p<.05). Effect sizes for within-group comparisons tended to be higher in the IP group (ds = -.15 to -8.03) than the IV group (ds = .12 to 1.40). Between-group comparisons revealed that IP patients demonstrated trends towards more severe symptoms post-chemotherapy in nearly all outcomes (p<.10). These results suggest that IP patients experience large increases in fatigue, depressive symptoms, and alterations in sleep and activity relative to IV patients.