SPARK for Children With Cancer

Overseen By Dr. Lillian Sung

Age: < 65

Sex: Any

Trial Phase: Academic

Sponsor: The Hospital for Sick Children

Disqualifiers: Cognitive disability, Visual impairment

No Placebo Group All trial participants will receive the active study treatment (no placebo)

Compensation: Varies

Number of Visits: Unknown

What You Need to Know Before You Apply

What is the purpose of this trial?

This trial tests a web-based app called SPARK, designed to help children with cancer manage their symptoms more effectively. The goal is to assess how well children can report their symptoms three times a week and how useful this information is for healthcare providers. The trial includes children aged 2-18 diagnosed with cancer and undergoing treatments like chemotherapy or surgery. Participants must understand English, French, or Spanish and should not have significant cognitive or visual impairments. As an unphased trial, this study offers a unique opportunity for participants to contribute to innovative research that could enhance symptom management for children with cancer.

Do I need to stop my current medications for the trial?

The trial information does not specify whether you need to stop taking your current medications. It might be best to discuss this with the trial coordinators or your healthcare provider.

What prior data suggests that the SPARK platform is safe for children with cancer?

Research has shown that SPARK, a web-based tool for checking symptoms, is very safe. It is neither a drug nor a medical device, so it lacks the side effects associated with medicines. Instead, SPARK assists children with cancer in reporting their symptoms and connects them to guidelines for managing those symptoms.

Studies have found that both children and healthcare providers find SPARK easy to use and appreciate its benefits. It enhances communication, enabling healthcare teams to address issues promptly. As a supportive tool rather than a direct treatment, no negative effects have been reported from its use.

Overall, SPARK is designed to safely and effectively support children during their cancer treatment. ^{1 2 3 4 5}

Why are researchers excited about this trial?

Researchers are excited about the SPARK treatment because it introduces a novel approach to managing symptoms in children with cancer. Unlike traditional treatments that primarily focus on directly combating the cancer itself, SPARK emphasizes proactive symptom monitoring through frequent, structured feedback from both guardians and children. This method aims to catch and address symptoms early, potentially improving overall well-being and reducing complications. By leveraging a digital platform for symptom reporting, SPARK encourages consistent communication, empowering families to participate actively in the care process and potentially enhancing the quality of life for young patients.

What evidence suggests that the SPARK platform is effective for symptom management in children with cancer?

Research has shown that using SPARK, a web-based app, can help manage symptoms in children with cancer. In this trial, participants will use the SPARK platform for symptom reporting three times a week by guardians and children over 8 weeks. Two recent studies suggested that checking symptoms with tools like SPARK improves symptom control. SPARK allows children and their guardians to report symptoms, and these reports include links to guidelines for managing them. This feature helps healthcare providers quickly access important information to better support their patients. Evidence indicates that regularly reporting symptoms is practical and helpful for caring for children with cancer. ^{6 7 8 9 10}

Who Is on the Research Team?

Lillian Sung, MD, PhD

Principal Investigator

The Hospital for Sick Children

Are You a Good Fit for This Trial?

This trial is for children aged 8-18 with a cancer diagnosis who are undergoing or planning to undergo chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or surgery. Participants must understand English or Spanish and will use the SPARK platform to report symptoms three times weekly.

Inclusion Criteria

My child is scheduled for or has had cancer treatment.

I have been diagnosed with cancer.

I understand English or Spanish.

Timeline for a Trial Participant

Screening

Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial

2-4 weeks

Symptom Screening

Three times weekly symptom reporting by children using the SPARK platform

8 weeks

Symptom reporting three times weekly via SPARK

Follow-up

Participants are monitored for safety and effectiveness after treatment

4 weeks

What Are the Treatments Tested in This Trial?

Interventions

• SPARK

Trial Overview The study tests the SPARK platform's feasibility for symptom reporting by children with cancer. Over eight weeks, participants will regularly input their symptoms into SPARK, which then informs healthcare providers and offers guidelines for managing these symptoms.

How Is the Trial Designed?

Group I: Three times weekly symptom screening Experimental Treatment 1 Intervention

Three times weekly symptom reporting by guardians and children using the SPARK platform for 8 weeks

Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?

The Hospital for Sick Children

Lead Sponsor

Trials

724

Recruited

6,969,000+

Citations

1. ejcped.com ejcped.com/article/S2772-610X(25)00026-1/fulltext

SSPedi and SPARK: Promise for the future of electronic ... Two recent randomized trials have shown that SSPedi improves symptom control. •. Symptom screening should be incorporated into pediatric cancer clinical care.

2. ascopubs.org ascopubs.org/doi/10.1200/EDBK_390272

Patient-Reported Outcomes in Pediatric Patients With Cancer Pediatric patients with cancer have excellent survival outcomes related to improved treatment strategies including immunotherapy and more precise risk ...

3. cdn.clinicaltrials.gov cdn.clinicaltrials.gov/large-docs/18/NCT03495518/Prot_000.pdf

refinement and early evaluation of spark, an approach to enable SPARK to data in the Cancer in Young People – Canada (CYP-C) program. CYP-C is a national pediatric cancer database which includes all children 0 to < 15 years ...

4. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9809057/

Feasibility of three times weekly symptom screening in ... The SPARK reports included the patient's SSPedi symptoms depicted graphically and links to pediatric cancer supportive care guidelines.

5. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11299117/

Patient-Reported Outcomes in Pediatric Patients With Cancer Pediatric patients with cancer have excellent survival outcomes related to improved treatment strategies including immunotherapy and more precise risk ...

6. clinicaltrials.gov clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04275102

Three Times Weekly Symptom Screening for Children With ... SPARK is a web-based application that promotes symptom screening for children receiving cancer therapies and enables access to clinical practice guidelines for ...

7. sciencedirect.com sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772610X25000261

SSPedi and SPARK: Promise for the future of electronic ... SPARK facilitates access to SSPedi, encourages symptom screening, generates reports, and allows patients and healthcare professionals to track symptoms [47], [ ...

8. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6327501/

Initial development of Supportive care Assessment ... SPARK is a web-based application that consists of two components: (1) a symptom screening component centered on SSPedi, and (2) a supportive ...

9. withpower.com withpower.com/trial/phase-2020-1be59

SPARK for Children With Cancer · Info for Participants SPARK is a web-based application that promotes symptom screening for children receiving cancer therapies and enables access to clinical practice guidelines for ...

10. cdn.clinicaltrials.gov cdn.clinicaltrials.gov/large-docs/25/NCT03593525/Prot_SAP_001.pdf

SPARK RCT Protocol Page 1 of 13 Version Date Symptom Screening in Pediatrics Tool in Children Receiving Cancer Treatments. Journal of the. National Cancer Institute. Dec 20 2017. 5 ...