Guided Meditation During Radiation Therapy for Brain Tumors (Med-RT)

March 17, 2026 updated by: University of Utah

An Interventional Trial Using Guided Meditation During Radiation Therapy for Brain Tumors

The goal of this interventional treatment study is to assess the anxiolytic effect of providing guided meditation during radiation treatment (RT) in patients with brain tumors.

The main question it aims to answer is:

• What is the change in acute anxiety in participants receiving the mindfulness intervention during radiation therapy compared to standard of care control conditions?

Participants will be asked to participate in a 5-minute, audio-recorded mindfulness practice that will be played during the administration of each RT session. Researchers will compare this intervention to standard of care (no intervention) during RT.

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.

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.
30

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 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:

  • Participant aged ≥ 18 years.
  • Radiologically confirmed tumor of the brain. Note: Participants may have tumor resected after diagnosis.
  • Eligible to undergo radiation treatment for brain tumor for 25-33 treatments.
  • Willing to participate in either the guided meditation or standard of care control arm, regardless of treatment assignment.
  • Karnofsky performance score ≥ 60 or ECOG performance score ≤ 2.
  • MoCA mini score ≥ 11
  • Able to provide informed consent and willing to sign an approved consent form that conforms to federal and institutional guidelines.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Active suicidal ideation or active psychotic state in the opinion of the investigator.
  • An unstable illness that, in the opinion of the investigator, would interfere with study treatment.
  • Prior radiation therapy to the brain.
  • Inability to understand and/or speak the English language.

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: Treatment
  • Allocation: 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.
No Intervention: Standard of Care
Experimental: Guided Meditation Intervention
Behavioral: 10 to 15-Minute, Audio-Recorded Guided Mediation Practice

Five different meditation practices will be provided, all of which have been validated in prior research.

  • The Body Scan practice consists of instruction in how to direct non-judgmental attention to different regions of the body
  • The Mindful Breathing practice consists of focused attention on the breath and metacognitive monitoring and acceptance of discursive thoughts, negative emotions, and body sensations
  • The Mindfulness of Discomfort practice consists of instruction in how to "zoom in" to deconstruct discomfort and map each feelings' spatial location, use mindful breathing to "zoom out" and broaden the field of awareness to include neglected sensory elements, and shift attention from unpleasant feelings to neutral/pleasant sensations or experiences
  • The Savoring practice consists of instruction in identifying and amplifying pleasant memories
  • The Loving-Kindness practice consists of instruction in cultivating feeling of warmth and compassion toward the self and others

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 acute anxiety, measured by score on individual item derived from GAD-2, in participants receiving mindfulness intervention during RT compared to standard of care control conditions.
Time Frame: 7 weeks

To assess the acute anxiolytic effects of a brief mindfulness intervention during RT for brain tumor patients with mask anxiety.

Acute anxiety during RT will be measured each RT visit with an individual item ("How nervous, anxious or on edge do you feel right now?" scored on a 0-10 scale) derived from the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 2-item (GAD-2) scale, "0" meaning "Not at All" and "10" meaning "Very Much") measured before and after RT. The change from before to after RT will be averaged over all RT visits.
7 weeks

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
Change in anxiety in everyday life in participants receiving mindfulness intervention during RT compared to standard of care, measured using the total score of the GAD-2 scale prior to RT
Time Frame: 7 weeks

To assess the distal anxiolytic effects of a brief mindfulness intervention during RT for brain tumor patients with mask anxiety.

Anxiety in everyday life will be measured using the total score of the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 2-item (GAD-2) scale prior to RT (minumum value 0, maximum value 6, score of 3 or higher considered clinical.) This will be measured once a week during RT.
7 weeks
Change in anxiety during RT and in everyday life as measured by the modified MPoD
Time Frame: 7 weeks

To determine whether the brief mindfulness intervention during RT increases brain tumor patients' state mindfulness and whether the degree of changes in state mindfulness during RT predict decreases in acute anxiety and anxiety in daily life.

Modified Metacognitive Processes of Decentering Scale (MPoD) consists of 4 items scored on a 0-10 scale, "0" meaning "Not at All" and "10" meaning "Very Much".
7 weeks
Change in self transcendence and the magnitude/degree of change in self transcendence as measured by total score of the Nondual Awareness Dimensional Assessment (NADA.)
Time Frame: 7 weeks
To determine whether the brief mindfulness intervention during RT increases brain tumor patients' self transcendence and whether the degree of changes in self transcendence during RT predict decreases in anxiety in daily life.
7 weeks

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.
University of Utah

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: Lindsay Burt, MD, Huntsman Cancer Institute/ University of Utah

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.
February 29, 2024

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.
January 15, 2027

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.
January 15, 2028

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).
November 10, 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.
December 8, 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.
December 11, 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.
March 20, 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.
March 17, 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.
March 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.
  • HCI167297

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

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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