CClinicalTrials.gg
Status unknownNCT03591237Updated May 28, 2019

MBCT for Cancer Patients in Follow-Up

An interventional study of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy in Pain Management, sponsored by University of Aarhus. Status unknown at 2 sites in Denmark. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2019-05-28.

Sponsored by University of Aarhus · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

The sponsor has not verified this record recently (last verified May 2019), so the status shown — last known as Recruiting — may be out of date.
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
120
Allocation
Not applicable
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The objectives of the present study are: 1) to executing the practical implementation in an oncology department of MBCT for patients who have completed their primary treatment and experience significant cancer- and cancer-treatment-related pain, 2) to evaluate effects on pain and well-being, 3) to explore patient satisfaction with the intervention offered, and 4) to explore possible organizational and individual physical, mental and socio-economic barriers for implementation in relation to drop-outs.

Read the detailed description

International research shows that untreated or under treated pain among cancer patients after completion of therapy is a common problem with substantial negative impact on the patients' quality of life and mental and physical function.These challenges have increased interest in psychological pain therapy and among the available methods of psychological intervention, mindfulness-based interventions (MBI) are of particular interest. MBI appears to be particularly relevant for pain, as mindfulness focuses, through different meditation exercises, on concentrating attention on here-and-now experiences and supporting new ways of addressing physical sensations and emotional discomfort, characterized by greater acceptance and openness. MBI has been shown effective in treatment of nonmalignant chronic pain. . Patients seen by all four diagnosis teams at the Oncology Department at AUH are screened for pain (0-10 NRS) in connection with their final consultation with the oncologist. Patients with a pain score of ≥ 4 on one or more of the four pain dimensions questions receive a folder describing MBCT and the treatment plan and are encouraged to contact the MBCT team for more information and scheduling of an interview. If the patient, after initial information either by phone or after the first interview decline the offer to participate, but are willing to be contacted for the purpose of gathering more information about their reasons for not participating, we will send them a brief questionnaire concerning their pain and their reasons for choosing to decline the offer, to complete online. They are also asked to give their permission to collect the same information after three months. All data are collected and registered with REDCap, a high data security project administration system administered by Aarhus University's Clinical Trial Unit. The patients will participate in eight weekly two hour group sessions and will be asked to do an additional 45 minutes of daily training at home. The participants will be asked to record their home training to allow assessment of their adherence to the intervention. The program corresponds to the manualized MBCT program, but with adaptations that take into account the special needs of cancer patients, including somewhat shorter sessions, shorter yoga exercises, and the omission of the all-day session. The sessions include psychoeducation and formalized mindfulness exercises with focus on the participants' here-and-now experience of their pain. The aim of the present project is to evaluate the practical implementation of MBCT, with focus on: 1) the observed effects on pain (primary outcome parameter), 2) effects on quality-of-life (QoL) and on other cancer and cancer-treatment-related late effects associated with pain (secondary outcome parameter), 3) possible barriers for continued participation in the program (drop-out), 4) patient experience and satisfaction with the intervention and its organizational/practical implementation, 5) staff's experience of screening procedure and implementation, and 6) collection of data for use in the evaluation of effects, costs, and savings. For use in the evaluation, the patients complete questionnaires prior to the first session (T1), immediately after the last session (T2), and at a six-month follow-up (T3).

02

Conditions studied

  • Pain Management

Keywords

  • cancer
  • late effects
  • pain
03

In context

Lead sponsor

University of Aarhus is the lead sponsor of 1,274 studies on the registry; 183 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

  • >18 yrs. of age
  • completed primary cancer treatment
  • experiencing moderate to severe pain >4 (11-point NRS)

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • incomplete chemotherapy or radiation therapy
  • serious psychiatric diagnoses eg. psychosis
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
120 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    MBCT

    As patients with significant pain are identified and accept the offer of receiving 'Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy' (MBCT) for pain, they will be consecutively included in groups of 12-20 participants. The patients will participate in eight weekly two hour group sessions and will be asked to do an additional 45 minutes of daily training at home.

    Behavioral: Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy

Interventions

  • BehavioralMindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy

    The patients participate in eight weekly group sessions of two hours each and will be asked to do an additional 45 minutes of daily training at home. The participants will be asked to record their home training to allow assessment of their adherence to the intervention. Generally, the program corresponds to the manualized MBCT program, but with adaptations that take into account the special needs of cancer patients, including shorter sessions, shorter yoga exercises and the omission of the all-day session. The sessions include psychoeducation and formalized mindfulness exercises with focus on the participants' here-and-now experience of their pain.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Pain intensity assessed by NRS

    Pain intensity during the last week is assessed by a 11-point numeric rating scale (NRS), range 0-10. (0=no pain, 10= worst pain ever).

    Time frame: Change in pain intensity from baseline (day 0) to post-intervention (up to 30 weeks after baseline)

  2. Pain interference assessed by NRS

    Pain interference with daily activities during the last week is assessed by a 11-point numeric rating scale (NRS), range 0-10. (0=no interference, 10=maximal interference).

    Time frame: Change in pain interference from baseline (day 0) to post-intervention (up to 30 weeks after baseline)

Secondary outcomes

  1. Pain quality assessed by the McGill Pain Questionnaire (SF-MPQ-2)

    Pain quality is assessed by the McGill Pain Questionnaire, which consists of 22 items representing different descriptors of pain. Each item is rated based on a 0-10 scale (0=no pain, 10=worst pain ever) during the last week. The questionnaire comprises of four parts, including continuous, intermittent, neuropathic and affective pain.

    Time frame: Change in pain quality from baseline (day 0) to post-intervention (up to 30 weeks after baseline)

  2. Pain burden assessed by NRS

    Pain burden is assessed by a 11-point numeric rating scale (NRS), range 0-10 "How burdensome have your pain been during the last week" (0=not burdensome, 10=very burdensome).

    Time frame: Change in pain burden from baseline (day 0) to post-intervention (up to 30 weeks after baseline)

  3. Cancer-related quality of life assessed by EORTC-QLQ-C30

    Cancer-related quality of life is assessed with the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer's quality of life questionnaire (EORTC-QLQ-C30), which consists of 30 items.

    Time frame: Change in cancer-related quality of life from baseline (day 0) to post-intervention (up to 30 weeks after baseline)

  4. Health-related quality of life assessed by the EQ-5D-3L

    Health-realted quality of life is assessed by the EQ-5D, which consists of 5 items, measuring five dimensions of health status: mobility, self-case, usual activities, apin/discomfort, anxiety/depression. Each item is rated by marking a statement representing values at three levels 1-3. Higher scores indicate lower levels of quality of life.

    Time frame: Change in health-related quality of life from baseline (day 0) to post-intervention (up to 30 weeks after baseline)

  5. Well-being assessed by the WHO-5

    Well-being is assessed by the World Health Organization Well-Being Index (WHO-5), which consists of 5 items. Each item is rated on a 6-point Likert scale, ranging from 0-5. Higher scores indicate higher levels of well-being.

    Time frame: Change in well-being from baseline (day 0) to post-intervention (up to 30 weeks after baseline)

  6. Fear of cancer recurrence assessed by the FCRI-SF

    Fear of cancer recurrence is assessed with the Fear of Cancer Recurrence Inventory - Short Form (FCRI-SF), which consists of 9 items. Each item is rated on a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from 0-4. Higher scores indicate higher levels of fear of cancer recurrence.

    Time frame: Change in fear of cancer recurrence from baseline (day 0) to post-intervention (up to 30 weeks after baseline)

  7. Symptoms of depression assessed by the BDI

    Depressive symptoms are assessed by the Beck Depression Index (BDI), which consists of 21 items. Each item is rated by marking a statement representing values from 0-3. Higher scores indicate higher levels of depression symptoms.

    Time frame: Change in depression symptoms from baseline (day 0) to post-intervention (up to 30 weeks after baseline)

  8. Sleep quality assessed by the ISI

    Sleep difficulties are assessed by the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), which consists of 7 items. Each item is rated on a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from 0-4. Higher scores indicate higher severity of insomnia.

    Time frame: Change in sleep quality from baseline (day 0) to post-intervention (up to 30 weeks after baseline)

Other outcomes

  1. Pain catastrophizing assessed by the PCS

    Pain catastrophizing is assessed by the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS), which consists of 13 items. Each item is rated on a 5-point Likert scale (0=not at all, 4=all the time). Higher scores indicate higher levels of pain catastrophizing.

    Time frame: Session-by-session change in pain catastrophizing from baseline (day 0) to post-intervention (up to 30 weeks after baseline)

  2. Experiential avoidance assessed by the BEAQ

    Experiential avoidance is assessed by the Brief Experiential Avoidance Questionnaire (BEAQ), which consists of 15 items. Each item is rated on a 6-point Likert scale, ranging from 1=strongly disagreee to 6=strongly agree. Higher scores indicate higher levels of experiential avoidance.

    Time frame: Session-by-sessions change in experiential avoidance from baseline (day 0) to post-intervention (up to 30 weeks after baseline)

  3. Mindfulness assessed by the FFMQ

    Mindfulness is assessed by the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), which consists of 39 items. The questionnaire measures five mindfulness facets: acting with awareness, describing, nonjudging of inner experience, nonreactivity to inner experience, observing. Each item is rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1=never or rarely true, 5=very often or always true). Higher scores indicate higher levels of mindfulness.

    Time frame: Session-by-session change in mindfulness from baseline (day 0) to post-intervention (up to 30 weeks after baseline)

  4. Self-compassion assessed by the SCS

    Self-compassion is assessed by The Self-Compassion Scale - Short form (SCS-SF), which consists of 12 items. Each item is rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1=almost never, 5=almost always). Higher scores indicate higher levels of self-compassion.

    Time frame: Session-by-session change in self-compassion from baseline (day 0) to post-intervention (up to 30 weeks after baseline)

07

Study locations

1 of 2 sites recruiting
  • Aarhus University
    Aarhus, Jylland 8000, Denmark
    Active, not recruiting
  • Dept of Oncology, Aarhus University Hospital
    Aarhus, Jylland 8000, Denmark
    • Ingeborg Farver-Vestergaard, PhD-fellow · Contact · ifarver@psy.au.dk · +4587166154
    • Ingeborg Farver-Vestergaard, PhD · Sub investigator
    Recruiting
08

References and documents

Study documents

  • Protocol and statistical analysis plan · Jun 2, 2018

Documents are hosted by the registry — open the source record to download them.

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on May 28, 2019, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03591237
Lead sponsor
University of Aarhus
Collaborators
Aarhus University Hospital
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Jul 19, 2018
Start date
Mar 1, 2018
Primary completion
Dec 30, 2019 (estimated)
Completion
Mar 1, 2020 (estimated)
Last update
May 28, 2019

Study contacts

Ingeborg Farver-Vestergaard, Ph.D.
Contact
ifarver@psy.au.dk
+4587166154
Maja Johannsen, Ph.D.
Contact
majajo@psy.au.dk
+4587165956
Robert Zachariae, DMSCi
principal investigator · University of Aarhus

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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