Investigating the Impact of Proactive Palliative Care

October 24, 2025 updated by: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Evaluating the Impact of Proactive Palliative Care in Patients Initiating Phase I Targeted or Immune-Based Cancer Therapeutics: A Randomized Controlled Trial

This study will test whether adding personalized supportive care to medical treatment on a clinical trial affects the study participants' ability and desire to discuss their symptoms, their concerns about the future, and their approach to coping with cancer. The effects of supportive care on participants' responses to questions about these topics will be compared with those of other study participants who are being treated for cancer in a clinical trial, but are not receiving personalized supportive care.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Active, not recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
83

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • New York
      • New York, New York, United States, 10065
        • Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Probability Sample

Study Population

The study population will be patients with metastatic or locally advanced solid tumor cancers who progress beyond standard treatment and are deemed eligible to receive treatment with investigational targeted or immune-based therapeutics with Phase I, Phase I/Ib, and Phase I/II trials at MSK.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients with disease progression on at least one standard chemotherapy regimen, and now eligible and consented to begin Phase I, Phase I/Ib, Phase I/II and non-randomized Phase II (including basket studies) investigational targeted and immune-based therapeutics in MSK medical oncology, EDD, or ITC clinics
  • Able to speak, read, and understand English well enough to complete study assessments in the judgment of the consenting professional
  • 18 years of age and older
  • Has a progressive or metastatic solid tumor cancer with MSK pathology confirmation at the primary or metastatic anatomic site

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients who already are receiving specialty supportive care (already referred for a supportive care consultation) prior to enrollment in a Phase I protocol.
  • Patients will be excluded if the Phase I, Phase I/Ib, Phase I/II or Phase II trial involves known active drugs in combination with experimental drugs, in which the patient has not previously received the known active drug or active drugs of the same class. For example, a patient with metastatic pancreatic cancer who has not received gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel, but enrolls on a study that tests an experimental drug in addition to gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel, will be excluded.
  • Significant psychiatric or cognitive disturbance in the primary clinician"s or investigator"s judgment, to preclude providing informed consent or participating in the interventions (i.e. acute psychiatric symptoms which require individual treatment)

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Group / Cohort

A group or subgroup of participants in an observational study that is assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
supportive care visits
A concurrent supportive care intervention (intervention arm) Study assessments will be conducted at baseline (t0); at 3-6 weeks +/- 1 week from Day 1 of receiving investigational therapy, prior to sharing information on treatment response and before the first planned scan to evaluate extent of disease (t1); and at 8-12 weeks (the end of the 3 month total study time period) (t2).intervention arm will have at least monthly visits with a supportive care clinician
Behavioral: Expectations Survey (CanCORS)
Study assessments will be conducted at baseline (t0); at 3-6 weeks +/- 1 week from Day 1 of receiving investigational therapy, prior to sharing information on treatment response and before the first planned scan to evaluate extent of disease (t1); and at 8-12 weeks (the end of the 3 month total study time period) (t2).
Behavioral: Values Survey (Serious Illness Care Program)
Study assessments will be conducted at baseline (t0); at 3-6 weeks +/- 1 week from Day 1 of receiving investigational therapy, prior to sharing information on treatment response and before the first planned scan to evaluate extent of disease (t1); and at 8-12 weeks (the end of the 3 month total study time period) (t2).
Behavioral: Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G)
Study assessments will be conducted at baseline (t0); at 3-6 weeks +/- 1 week from Day 1 of receiving investigational therapy, prior to sharing information on treatment response and before the first planned scan to evaluate extent of disease (t1); and at 8-12 weeks (the end of the 3 month total study time period) (t2).
Behavioral: NCCN Distress Thermometer
Study assessments will be conducted at baseline (t0); at 3-6 weeks +/- 1 week from Day 1 of receiving investigational therapy, prior to sharing information on treatment response and before the first planned scan to evaluate extent of disease (t1); and at 8-12 weeks (the end of the 3 month total study time period) (t2).
Behavioral: Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS)
Study assessments will be conducted at baseline (t0); at 3-6 weeks +/- 1 week from Day 1 of receiving investigational therapy, prior to sharing information on treatment response and before the first planned scan to evaluate extent of disease (t1); and at 8-12 weeks (the end of the 3 month total study time period) (t2).
Behavioral: Quality of Communication (QOC)
Study assessments will be conducted at baseline (t0); at 3-6 weeks +/- 1 week from Day 1 of receiving investigational therapy, prior to sharing information on treatment response and before the first planned scan to evaluate extent of disease (t1); and at 8-12 weeks (the end of the 3 month total study time period) (t2).
Behavioral: visits with a supportive care clinician
Monthly visits with a supportive care clinician
without supportive care visits
A concurrent supportive care intervention (intervention arm) Study assessments will be conducted at baseline (t0); at 3-6 weeks +/- 1 week from Day 1 of receiving investigational therapy, prior to sharing information on treatment response and before the first planned scan to evaluate extent of disease (t1); and at 8-12 weeks (the end of the 3 month total study time period) (t2).intervention arm will have at least monthly visits with a supportive care clinicianTo receive the investigational cancer treatment alone (control arm) no monthly visit with a supportive care clinician.
Behavioral: Expectations Survey (CanCORS)
Study assessments will be conducted at baseline (t0); at 3-6 weeks +/- 1 week from Day 1 of receiving investigational therapy, prior to sharing information on treatment response and before the first planned scan to evaluate extent of disease (t1); and at 8-12 weeks (the end of the 3 month total study time period) (t2).
Behavioral: Values Survey (Serious Illness Care Program)
Study assessments will be conducted at baseline (t0); at 3-6 weeks +/- 1 week from Day 1 of receiving investigational therapy, prior to sharing information on treatment response and before the first planned scan to evaluate extent of disease (t1); and at 8-12 weeks (the end of the 3 month total study time period) (t2).
Behavioral: Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G)
Study assessments will be conducted at baseline (t0); at 3-6 weeks +/- 1 week from Day 1 of receiving investigational therapy, prior to sharing information on treatment response and before the first planned scan to evaluate extent of disease (t1); and at 8-12 weeks (the end of the 3 month total study time period) (t2).
Behavioral: NCCN Distress Thermometer
Study assessments will be conducted at baseline (t0); at 3-6 weeks +/- 1 week from Day 1 of receiving investigational therapy, prior to sharing information on treatment response and before the first planned scan to evaluate extent of disease (t1); and at 8-12 weeks (the end of the 3 month total study time period) (t2).
Behavioral: Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS)
Study assessments will be conducted at baseline (t0); at 3-6 weeks +/- 1 week from Day 1 of receiving investigational therapy, prior to sharing information on treatment response and before the first planned scan to evaluate extent of disease (t1); and at 8-12 weeks (the end of the 3 month total study time period) (t2).
Behavioral: Quality of Communication (QOC)
Study assessments will be conducted at baseline (t0); at 3-6 weeks +/- 1 week from Day 1 of receiving investigational therapy, prior to sharing information on treatment response and before the first planned scan to evaluate extent of disease (t1); and at 8-12 weeks (the end of the 3 month total study time period) (t2).

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
patients' expectations for therapeutic benefit
Time Frame: 3 months
using the CanCORS Expectations Survey, which will assess, on a 4-point Likert-type scale, patients' expectations for therapeutic benefit after talking with their doctors about their experimental drug
3 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Andrew Epstein, MD, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

Helpful Links

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
September 7, 2018

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
September 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
September 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
September 10, 2018

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
September 10, 2018

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
September 12, 2018

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
October 28, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
October 24, 2025

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
October 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 18-363

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Cookie Settings

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. For more details carefully read our Privacy and Cookies Policy. ...>>>You can change your preferences or withdraw your consent at any time by deleting the cookies from your website or computer as described in the policy. Please accept it and choose your preferences by ticking the corresponding boxes in the "Manage Settings" section below. Please carefully read our Terms of Service before you proceed with using any part of this website.
«Manage Settings