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Recruiting NCT04452825

A New Psychotherapy Intervention for Older Cancer Patients

No phase Interventional Cancer

For patients and families

In plain language

An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.

What is being studied
The protocol lists: Cancer and Aging: Reflections for Elders (CARE) Intervention, Social Work and Supportive Counseling (SWSC) Intervention.
Who it may be relevant to
Registry conditions: Cancer. Basic parameters: from 70 years · All.
What needs checking
Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
Where it takes place
United States
Next step
Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →

Unsure about the terms? Read our patient guide →

Official title

Cancer and Aging Reflections for Elders (CARE): A Geriatric-Specific Psychotherapy for Older Adults With Cancer

Overview

This study is being done to see if a new psychotherapy intervention called Cancer and Aging: Reflections for Elders (CARE) can effectively treat depression and distress in older cancer patients. CARE is a 5-session intervention that takes place over the phone. This study will compare CARE with the Social Work and Supportive Counseling (SWSC) intervention, which also takes place over the phone. SWSC is a standard psychotherapeutic intervention that has been shown to be a supportive and effective form of treatment for distress for patients with cancer. The researchers will look at which intervention is more effective in treating depression and distress in participants.

Interventions

  • Behavioral Cancer and Aging: Reflections for Elders (CARE) Intervention
    For full participants (not training case participants) five sessions (45-60 minutes each) will be delivered over an 8-week period (+4 weeks). Following these sessions, four brief booster sessions (20-30 minutes each) will be delivered at a rate of approximately one per month to extend the interventions to 6 months (+3 months).
  • Behavioral Social Work and Supportive Counseling (SWSC) Intervention
    The SWSC will include a social work assessment and follow-up augmented with additional components of supportive psychotherapy that have been shown to be an effective form of treatment for patients with cancer. For full participants (not training case participants) five sessions (45-60 minutes each) will be delivered over an 8-week period (+4 weeks). Following these sessions, four brief booster sessions (20-30 minutes each) will be delivered at a rate of approximately one per month to extend the

Primary outcome measures

  • Depression and Anxiety: Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) [Time frame: 9 months]

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion criteria

  • As per self-report or medical record, ≥ 70 years of age
  • As per self-report or medical record, has a diagnosis of cancer
  • As per self-report or medical record, receiving active treatment (e.g., radiation, chemotherapy, hormone); OR received active treatment in the past 6 months (N/A for training case participants); OR are currently on active surveillance with follow-ups at least approximately every 6 months
  • Received a HADS-D score of ≥ 6 or HADS-A score of ≥ 6 or a score of ≥ 4 on the distress thermometer. (N/A for training case participants)
  • Received a Karnofsky Performance Rating Scale (KPRS) score of ≥ 60 (N/A for training case participants)
  • Received a Blessed Orientation-Memory-Concentration Scale (BOMC) score of ≤ 11 (N/A for training case participants)
  • Fluent in English, as per self-reported fluency of "well" or "very well"\*

Exclusion criteria

  • As per self-report, currently taking antidepressant medication for < 3 months
  • As per self-report, currently receiving hospice care
  • In the judgment of the consenting professional is unable to provide informed consent and complete study sessions and assessment
  • As per self-report or as documented in the medical record, current untreated (e.g., no medication, no therapy) major psychotic disorder (schizotypal personality disorder, schizophreniform disorder, schizoaffective disorder). Patients diagnosed with a major psychiatric disorder will be reviewed by the study PI to determine eligibility prior to consent.
  • Language verification: Prior to enrollment, patients will be asked the following two questions by research staff to verify English fluency necessary for participation in the study:
  • How well do you speak English? (must respond "Well" or "Very well" when given the choices of Very well, Well, Not well, Not at all, Don't know, or Refused)
  • What is your preferred language for healthcare? (must respond English)

Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.

Healthy volunteers: No

Study design

Allocation
Randomized
Model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Open label
Primary purpose
Supportive care

Study locations

United States · 1 center
  • Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center — New York

Identifiers

NCT: NCT04452825 · 20-191

Primary sources (government registries)

View this study on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗