Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Treatment-Related Fatigue in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Patients on Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors: A Mixed-Method Study

Treatment-related fatigue significantly limits quality of life among chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients receiving tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), yet no interventions to reduce this symptom have been studied. We examined preliminary feasibility and efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy for TKI treatment-related fatigue in patients with CML. We used a mixed methods convergent design and collected quantitative data through randomized single-case experiments. We included CML patients receiving TKIs and reporting severe fatigue. Within each participant, we compared CBT to a no-treatment baseline period. Fatigue severity was measured weekly with the Checklist Individual Strength. Fatigue scores were subjected to visual analyses and randomization tests for single-case experimental designs. We conducted qualitative interviews after study participation and focused on feasibility and efficacy of CBT. Visual inspection of line graphs indicated downward trends in the expected direction for fatigue in two of the four participants. The test statistics showed a decrease in fatigue severity for all participants but randomization tests did not reach statistical significance (overall p = 0.18). Participants reported qualitative improvements in level of functioning and coping with fatigue. CBT was considered feasible and acceptable for severely fatigued CML patients. Our study provided preliminary evidence for the feasibility and acceptability of CBT for severely fatigued CML patients receiving targeted therapy. We recommend further efficacy testing of this promising intervention in a pilot randomized controlled trial.