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Active, Not Recruiting

NCT Number: NCT04819997

A Nurse-Led Intervention for Fear of Progression in Advanced Cancer

This clinical trial focuses on a nurse-led program that is designed to help patients cope with worries, fears, and uncertainty about the future. The purpose of this study is to understand if the program is helpful and practical to carry out at medical centers and community clinics. This study may help patients learn more effective ways to cope and respond to your concerns and any unhelpful thoughts.

Active, Not Recruiting

This study is active but is not currently recruiting participants.

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Key information

About this study

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:

I. To assess the feasibility and acceptability of the revised day by day (DBD) intervention in an academic and community settings.

II. To assess the preliminary effects of the revised DBD intervention for reducing fear of progression (FOP) and improving distress, anxiety, depression, metacognitions (beliefs about worry), and mindfulness.

OUTLINE:

Patients participate in 5 videoconference sessions over 30 minutes each over 6 weeks focused on worry management skills, values-based goal setting, and brief mindfulness-based practices, then complete patient workbook activities after each session over 15-20 minutes per day. Patients also complete a survey over 8 minutes at 6 weeks, an exit interview at 7 weeks, and questionnaires over 25 minutes each at baseline, 6 weeks, and 10 weeks.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Patients with stage III or IV gynecologic (GYN) or lung cancer
  • At least 3 months from initial diagnosis
  • Score >= 34 on the Fear of Progression-short form (SF) questionnaire

Exclusion criteria

  • Severe mental illness (e.g. psychosis)
  • Hospice enrolled
  • Non-English speaking

Treatment and study plan

Educational Intervention

Other

Participate in videoconference session

Other names: Education for Intervention

Primary outcomes

  1. Feasibility of recruitment

    Time frame: Up to 10 weeks

    Defined by enrollment rate. Enrollment rate will be calculated as number of enrolled divided by the number of eligible patients.

  2. Feasibility of the intervention

    Time frame: Up to 10 weeks

    Defined by attrition, attendance, and adherence with home practice activities. Attrition rate will be calculated as number of patients who drop out patients divided by number of enrolled patients. Adherence will be assessed based on the completion rate of home practice activities.

  3. Acceptability

    Time frame: Up to 10 weeks

    Will be assessed based on 1) responses to open-ended questions on the exit interview response asking about participants' experience with the intervention and delivery platforms; and 2) a self-report evaluation survey rating usefulness of the session content, home practice activities, testimonials, and delivery platforms. Survey items are rated on a 1-5 Likert scale. An average score of 3 or above will indicate good acceptability.

Other outcomes

  1. Fear of progression (FOP)

    Time frame: Up to 10 weeks

    Linear mixed model (LMM) for repeated-measures design will be used to examine the changes in FOP and other outcome measures across three time-points. The model will include the time factor, employ compound symmetry covariance structure, and adjust for covariates when necessary. Post Hoc pairwise comparisons with Tukey adjustment will be conducted to test the change in outcomes between time periods. Cohen's D will be used to estimate effect sizes for the changes in outcome measures across time-points (Lakens, 2013).

  2. Cancer-specific distress

    Time frame: Up to 10 weeks

    Cancer-specific distress assessed using the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) [ Time Frame: Up to week 10 ] Cancer-specific distress will be assessed using the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) , 22-item scale consisting of 3 subscales

    • Intrusion;
    • Avoidance; and
    • Hyperarousal. Items are scored on a 0-4 response format. Subscale scores are calculated by taking the mean of the subscale responses. Total scores range from 0-88. A score of 24 or greater indicates clinical levels of distress.
  3. Anxiety

    Time frame: Up to 10 weeks

    Anxiety will be assessed using the PROMIS-Anxiety 8a, measures fear, dread, worry, hyperarousal, and related somatic symptoms.

    The short-form consists of 8 items that are scored on a 0-5 response format. The raw score is calculated by summing the values of the response to each question (range 8-40).

    Scores are standardized such that the scale produces continuous T scores with a mean of 50 and a SD of 10, higher scores reflect higher distress.

    PROMIS T score thresholds for anxiety are: ˂ 55 normal; 55-64 mild; 65-74 moderate; ≥75 severe.

  4. Depression

    Time frame: Up to 10 weeks

    Depression will be assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), includes the two major symptom domains: affective and somatic symptoms.

    It is rated from a 0 (not at all) to 3 (nearly every day) scale. Items are summed and a score of 10 or greater is considered clinically significant symptoms of depression.

    Scores of 0-4, 5-9, 10-14, and ≥15 represent minimal, mild, moderate, and severe levels of symptom burden.

  5. Metacognitions

    Time frame: Up to 10 weeks

    Metacognitions (MCQ-30) will be assessed using the Metacognitions Questionnaire, MCQ-30 is a 30-item questionnaire that assesses beliefs about worry.

    It consists of 5 subscales: Positive beliefs about worry; Negative beliefs about worry, Cognitive confidence; Need to control thoughts; and Cognitive self-consciousness. For each subscale, items are scored 1-4 and subscale scores range from 6-24.

    Total scores range from 30 to 120; higher scores indicate more dysfunctional metacognitions.

  6. Mindfulness

    Time frame: Up to 10 weeks

    Mindfulness will be assessed using the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ-15), the FFMQ-15 assesses five facets of mindfulness: observing, describing, acting with awareness, non-reactivity, and non-judging of inner experience.

    Items are rated on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (never or rarely true) to 5 (very often or always true).

    3 items comprise each subscale and subscale scores range from 3-15. Higher scores indicate greater engagement with mindfulness skills.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

City of Hope Medical Center

Other

Collaborators

  • National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2021
Primary completion
2026
Study completion
2026
First posted
Mar 29, 2021
Registry last updated
Jan 28, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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