An interventional study of Mind-Body Group Intervention and Enhanced Usual Care Control (EUCC) in Colorectal Cancer (Diagnosis), Anal Cancer and Sexual Dysfunction Female, sponsored by Massachusetts General Hospital. Not yet recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to female participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-09-08.
Sponsored by Massachusetts General Hospital · Not applicable, Interventional, and Supportive care
This record describes two distinct study phases: 1) A small open pilot trial including up to 10 participants, intended to generate descriptive feedback on regarding perceived benefits and areas for improvement for a group-based mind-body sexual well-being program for women treated for colorectal and anal cancers and 2) A pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) including up to 100 participants, intended to provide information about feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of the group-based mind-body sexual well-being program compared to enhanced usual care control (EUCC).
Given the early-stage, open-pilot nature of the first study phase, which is not intended to produce interpretable results for feasibility, acceptability, or efficacy, this record will only report results from the second study phase (pilot RCT).
The primary objective of this protocol is to iteratively refine and pilot test a novel mind-body sexual well-being intervention that investigators have developed in previous research (DF-HCC protocols #22-586, #24-009, and #24-281). This protocol will include 2 study phases, including a small open pilot trial (Phase 1) and a subsequent larger randomized pilot trial (Phase 2). This protocol builds on previous work conducted by the investigators to develop a 6-week, group-based, mind-body sexual well-being program for female survivors of colorectal and anal cancer.
For Phase 1 (Open Pilot Trial), participants will complete electronic informed consent (including HIPAA authorization for access to relevant medical information in the EHR) prior to initiation of study procedures. Participants will then be invited to attend approximately 6 weeks of group-based sessions, lasting for approximately 90 minutes and including content related to mind-body medicine and complementary medical resources relevant to survivors' sexual well-being. To help investigators further refine the sexual well-being program for the next phase of the study, investigators will ask participants to complete brief (approximately 30 minute) survey batteries via REDCap at baseline and after the 6-session program, including assessments of intervention feasibility and acceptability as well as relevant psychosocial outcomes.
For Phase 2 (Randomized Pilot Trial), participants will complete electronic informed consent (including HIPAA authorization for access to relevant medical information in the EHR) prior to initiation of study procedures. Participants will then be randomized into groups (mind-body intervention groups vs. enhanced usual care control (EUCC)).
Participants randomized to EUCC will not receive any components of the mind-body group intervention. As part of this condition, participants will receive the current standard of care for patients at MGH and additionally receive a standard resource sheet to ensure that all participants receive a basic level of information specific to sexuality in cancer survivorship. As part of routine study assessments, investigators will measure EUCC participants' level of engagement with the Sexual Health Clinic and other supportive resources.
Participants in the mind-body group intervention arm will receive the same educational information about available sexual health resources as the EUCC participants to ensure equal familiarity with supportive resources within and outside of MGH. Participants randomized to receive the mind-body group intervention will also participate in a similar approximately 6-week group-based mind-body sexual well-being program as is described for Aim 1.
Just as for Aim 1, to inform ongoing intervention refinement, investigators will ask all participants to complete brief (approximately 30 minute) survey batteries via REDCap at baseline and after the 6-session program, including items related to feasibility, acceptability, and relevant psychosocial outcomes. Investigators will only randomize participants after receiving a completed baseline survey; participants who do not complete the baseline survey will not be counted towards the total number enrolled in the study. To capture symptom change over a longer period, investigators will also ask participants to complete survey batteries at 3-month post-intervention follow-up.
Approximately 20 participants randomized to receive the novel mind-body group study intervention will also be invited to complete a brief qualitative exit interview with a member of the study team, regarding perceived benefit of the intervention as well as and strengths and weaknesses of program content and delivery format to inform ongoing intervention refinement.
297 studies on the registry are indexed under Anus Neoplasms; 74 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 100 is above the median of 66 across 211 interventional studies indexed under Anus Neoplasms.
Browse Anus Neoplasms studies →Massachusetts General Hospital is the lead sponsor of 2,586 studies on the registry; 447 are open to participants now.
Of its 222 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 168 (76%) have results posted.
Compared within Anus Neoplasms, this study's primary condition as ClinicalTrials.gg classifies it; the registry's first condition term is Colorectal Neoplasms. The counts are of registry records indexed under each term, refreshed daily. How we classify →
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Exclusion Criteria:
In addition, individuals who participate in Phase 1 of this protocol (open pilot trial) will not be eligible to participate in Phase 2 (pilot RCT). Investigators will not enroll the following special populations: adults unable to consent, individuals who are not yet adults (i.e., \< age 18), pregnant women, and prisoners.
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Participants in the mind-body sexual well-being group intervention arm will participate in 6 weekly group sessions, delivered via videoconferencing, following enrollment. Group sessions will include content related to mind-body medicine (e.g., relaxation, mindfulness, self-compassion) applied to sexual well-being as well as educational information related to women's sexual well-being in cancer survivorship. Before and after completing the group program, participants will also complete brief self-assessment questionnaires. Participants in the mind-body group intervention arm will also receive the same educational information about available sexual health resources as the EUCC participants, to ensure equal familiarity with high-quality educational and supportive resources related to women's sexual well-being and cancer.
Behavioral: Mind-Body Group Intervention
Participants randomized to EUCC will not receive any components of the mind-body group intervention. After randomization, the study CRC will offer participants a handout listing information about several high-quality sexual health resources currently available to them.
Behavioral: Enhanced Usual Care Control (EUCC)
Weekly virtual group meetings with the study interventionist(s) and up to 9 other female cancer survivors over an approximately 6 week period. The group program includes topics related to coping with physical health changes, managing social factors relevant to sexual well-being, and managing thoughts and feelings related to sexual well-being changes.
Participants randomized to EUCC will not receive any components of the mind-body group intervention. After randomization, the study CRC will offer participants a handout listing information about sexual health resources currently available to them that they may choose to access. Participants in the EUCC condition will also have the option of seeking care through the cancer center's local sexual health program, as is the current standard of care.
Feasibility of Intervention
To explore feasibility, investigators will use descriptive statistics (i.e., frequency and percentages) to evaluate the proportion of enrolled participants who completed at least 66%, or 4/6, of the scheduled intervention sessions (\>/= 70% as our cutoff criteria for feasibility).
Time frame: Approximately 6 weeks after the final 6-week group program begins
Acceptability of Intervention
To establish acceptability, we will examine the % of participants scoring at or above the scale midpoint on the CSQ-8 (\>/= 70% as criteria for acceptability).
Time frame: Approximately 6 weeks following group program start
Sexual Satisfaction
A key exploratory aim of the proposed research is to determine the strength of within-group changes in satisfaction with sex life (subscale of the PROMIS-SexFS) for participants randomized to both groups, which will inform future trial design for a larger efficacy study.
Time frame: Approximately 6 weeks following group program start
Plan to share: Yes — The Dana-Farber / Harvard Cancer Center encourages and supports the responsible and ethical sharing of data from clinical trials. De-identified participant data from the final research dataset used in the published manuscript may only be shared under the terms of a Data Use Agreement. Requests may be directed to: lfinkelsteinfox@mgh.harvard.edu. The protocol and statistical analysis plan will be made available on Clinicaltrials.gov only as required by federal regulation or as a condition of awards and agreements supporting the research.
Supporting information: Study protocol, Statistical analysis plan, Informed consent form
Time frame: Data can be shared no earlier than 1 year following the date of publication
Access criteria: Contact the Partners Innovations team
Data sharing details ↗ · www.partners.org
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in Aug 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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