Group Cognitive Behavior Sessions (CBCSM) to Decrease Distress in Cancer Patients

June 5, 2026 updated by: Mayo Clinic

A Non-Randomized Translational Trial of Cognitive Behavioral Cancer Stress Management (CBCSM) and Its Effects on Cancer Distress

This clinical trial tests how well cognitive behavioral cancer stress management (CBCSM) group sessions work to decrease psychological distress in cancer patients. CBCSM teaches patients how to recognize and reduce the impacts of cancer associated stress on the biological, psychological, and social life domains.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
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.

Detailed Description

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE:

I. To reduce psychological stress.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:

I. To increase post-traumatic growth (PTG). II. To increase patient self-efficacy in utilizing therapy skills. III. To estimate patient acceptability and feasibility of conducting CBCSM within the clinical setting.

IV. To estimate differences of conducting CBCSM virtually during the Public Health Emergency (PHE) versus in person pre-PHE.

V. To estimate differences of conducting CBCSM post PHE virtually with limitation to Minnesota patients only.

VI. To explore the difference using the same therapy in patients with advanced, metastatic disease in a individual setting versus patients without the advanced, metastatic disease in a group setting.

OUTLINE: Patients are assigned to 1 of 2 groups.

GROUP I: Patients participate in five CBCSM group sessions on study. Patients complete questionnaires throughout the trial and during follow-up at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months.

GROUP II: Patients complete questionnaires throughout the trial and during follow-up at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months.

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.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

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.
400

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

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

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Eligible for the cognitive behavioral cancer stress management (CBCSM) clinical service
  • Cancer diagnosis with predicted survival > 1 year
  • Cancer treatment within past 1 year or treatment planning in progress
  • Age >= 18-years
  • Moderate distress screen, indicated by Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) score >= 14 or clinical judgment
  • Written informed research consent

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Inability to actively participate in and learn from group therapy (e.g., psychotic symptoms, neurological condition, personality pathology) as determined by clinical judgment in clinical consultation (Individual therapy or alternative group therapy will be offered)

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

  • Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
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.
Experimental: Group I (CBCSM)
Patients participate in five CBCSM group sessions on study. Patients complete questionnaires throughout the trial and during follow-up at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months.
Other: Questionnaire Administration
Complete questionnaires
Behavioral: Cognitive Behavior Therapy
Participate in CBCSM group sessions
Other Names:
  • CT
  • CBT
  • cognitive therapy
Active Comparator: Group II (no CBCSM)
Patients complete questionnaires throughout the trial and during follow-up at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months.
Other: Questionnaire Administration
Complete questionnaires

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
Change in post-traumatic stress (PTS) score
Time Frame: At baseline, 1, 3, 6, and 12 months
Each item on the PTS is rated on a 5-point scale (0=Not at all; 1=A little bit; 2=Moderately; 3=Quite a bit, and 4=Extremely). The total score can range from 0 to 36 with higher scores indicating greater severity of posttraumatic stress disorder.
At baseline, 1, 3, 6, and 12 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Patient acceptability and satisfaction
Time Frame: Baseline to 12 months
Will be assessed by simple percentage, based on scores from an Institute for Healthcare Improvement 10-point Likert scale (0-10, "Would you recommend this program to your friends and family?" A score ≥7 indicates high individual satisfaction.
Baseline to 12 months
Patient attendance and feasibility
Time Frame: Baseline to 12 months
Will be assessed by simple percentage. Attendance and feasibility will be determined by the number of patients attending ≥3 sessions out of five.
Baseline to 12 months
Change in post-traumatic growth (PTG) score
Time Frame: At baseline, 1, 3, 6, and 12 months
PTG will be assessed using the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement System (PROMIS®)-Psychosocial Impact Scale-Positive. The PROMIS assesses pain intensity using a single 0-10 numeric rating item and seven health domains (physical function, fatigue, pain interference, depressive symptoms, anxiety, ability to participate in social roles and activities, and sleep disturbance) using four items per domain.
At baseline, 1, 3, 6, and 12 months
Change in self-efficacy score
Time Frame: At baseline, 1, 3, 6, and 12 months
Will examine predicted increase in self-efficacy associated with Cognitive Behavioral Cancer Stress Management (CBCSM) from pre-intervention to post-intervention. Scores will be assessed using the Measure of Current Status-Part A (MOCS-A), which measures participants' current self-perceived status on several skills: the ability to relax at will, recognize stress-inducing situations, restructure maladaptive thoughts, be assertive about needs, express anger effectively and appropriately, and choose appropriate coping responses as needed. Ratings are made on a scale from I cannot do this at all (0) to I can do this extremely well (4).
At baseline, 1, 3, 6, and 12 months
Anxiety
Time Frame: At baseline, 1, 3, 6, and 12 months
Will examine predicted reductions in anxiety symptoms associated with Cognitive Behavioral Cancer Stress Management (CBCSM) from pre-intervention to post-intervention. Anxiety will be measured using General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) symptom scores, an 8-question survey. Seven questions are answered on a 0-3 scale where 0=Not at all and 3=Nearly every day. The final question is answered on a 4-point scale from Not Difficult at All to Extremely Difficult.
At baseline, 1, 3, 6, and 12 months
Depression
Time Frame: At baseline, 1, 3, 6, and 12 months
Will examine predicted reductions in depression symptoms associated with Cognitive Behavioral Cancer Stress Management (CBCSM) from pre-intervention to post-intervention. Level of depression will be determined using the Patient Health Questionnaire-8 (PHQ-8). The PHQ-8 is an 8-item questionnaire answered on a scale of 0-3 where 0=Not at all and 3=Nearly every day.
At baseline, 1, 3, 6, and 12 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.
Mayo Clinic

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: Shawna L. Ehlers, Ph.D., L.P., Mayo Clinic in Rochester

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.
December 20, 2017

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.
December 31, 2029

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.
December 31, 2029

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).
August 23, 2023

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.
August 23, 2023

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.
August 29, 2023

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

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.
June 9, 2026

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.
June 5, 2026

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.
June 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

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.
  • 17-000947 (Mayo Clinic)
  • NCI-2023-00250 (Registry Identifier: CTRP (Clinical Trial Reporting Program))

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

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.

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