Pre-Operative Guided Meditation to Reduce Pre-Operative Anxiety in Patients Undergoing Cancer-Directed Surgery

May 1, 2026 updated by: Maryanna Klatt, Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center

Enhancing Quality of Patient Experience Via an Innovative Reduction of Pre-Operative Anxiety

This clinical trial tests how well guided meditation, compared to silence, works to reduce pre-operative anxiety in patients undergoing cancer-directed surgery. Pre-operative anxiety affects patient experience and has been found to be a predictor of severe post-operative pain and chronic pain after surgery, influencing the success and quality of a patient's recovery. While medication is often prescribed to improve anxiety symptoms, research has showed that mindfulness techniques can be used to decrease anxiety, improve comfort, and can impact both psychological and physiologic symptoms. Completing pre-operative guided meditation may work well to reduce pre-operative anxiety in patients undergoing cancer directive surgery.

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 improve is pre-operative patient anxiety in surgical settings.

OUTLINE: Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 arms.

ARM I: Patients listen to 10 minutes of guided meditation prior to surgery.

ARM II: Patients wear noise cancelling headphones for 10 minutes prior to surgery.

After completion of study intervention, patients are followed up for up to 6 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.
300

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

  • United States
    • Ohio
      • Columbus, Ohio, United States, 43210
        • Recruiting
        • Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Maryanna Klatt, PhD

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:

  • Participants will be recruited among patients who are scheduled for cancer-directed surgery
  • Participants must be 18 years or older

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Participants will be excluded from the study if they cannot speak English (as the meditation is recorded in English)
  • Currently incarcerated
  • Have a diagnosis of dementia
  • Are admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU)
  • Have a hearing impairment that would make them unable to hear the recorded meditation

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: 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: Arm I (guided meditation)
Patients listen to 10 minutes of guided meditation prior to surgery.
Other: Survey Administration
Ancillary studies
Other: Electronic Health Record Review
Ancillary studies
Behavioral: Behavioral Intervention
Listen to guided meditation
Other Names:
  • Behavior Conditioning Therapy
  • Behavior Modification
  • Behavior or Life Style Modifications
  • Behavior Therapy
  • Behavioral Interventions
  • Behavioral Modification
  • Behavioral Therapy
  • Behavioral Treatment
  • Behavioral Treatments
Behavioral: Behavioral Intervention
Wear noise cancelling headphones
Other Names:
  • Behavior Conditioning Therapy
  • Behavior Modification
  • Behavior or Life Style Modifications
  • Behavior Therapy
  • Behavioral Interventions
  • Behavioral Modification
  • Behavioral Therapy
  • Behavioral Treatment
  • Behavioral Treatments
Active Comparator: Arm II (noise cancelling headphones)
Patients wear noise cancelling headphones for 10 minutes prior to surgery.
Other: Survey Administration
Ancillary studies
Other: Electronic Health Record Review
Ancillary studies
Behavioral: Behavioral Intervention
Listen to guided meditation
Other Names:
  • Behavior Conditioning Therapy
  • Behavior Modification
  • Behavior or Life Style Modifications
  • Behavior Therapy
  • Behavioral Interventions
  • Behavioral Modification
  • Behavioral Therapy
  • Behavioral Treatment
  • Behavioral Treatments
Behavioral: Behavioral Intervention
Wear noise cancelling headphones
Other Names:
  • Behavior Conditioning Therapy
  • Behavior Modification
  • Behavior or Life Style Modifications
  • Behavior Therapy
  • Behavioral Interventions
  • Behavioral Modification
  • Behavioral Therapy
  • Behavioral Treatment
  • Behavioral Treatments

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
Pre-operative anxiety (PROMIS Anxiety scale)
Time Frame: Pre and post intervention, approximately 10 minutes
Measured with the Patient Reported Outcome Measurement Information System Anxiety. PROMIS Anxiety short form is an 8-item scale used to assess anxiety in individuals 18 years or older. Each item is on a 5-point scale to be summed, with higher scores indicating greater anxiety.
Pre and post intervention, approximately 10 minutes
Pre-operative anxiety (single-item visual analog scale)
Time Frame: Pre and post intervention, approximately 10 minutes
Measured by a single-item visual analog scale. The single-item visual analog scale will be used to assess momentary anxiety. The item will ask, "On a scale of 1 to 10, how anxious do you feel right now?" and patients will rate the level of anxiety on a scale of 0 to 10 (0=not at all anxious, 10=extremely anxious).
Pre and post intervention, approximately 10 minutes

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
Post-operative opiate use
Time Frame: Up to 6 months post intervention
Will be extracted from the electronic medical record via chart review. Days of opioid use will be calculated and compared between intervention and control groups.
Up to 6 months post intervention
Post-operative morphine equivalent dose
Time Frame: Up to 6 months post intervention
Will be extracted from the electronic medical record via chart review. Daily morphine equivalent dose for each opioid prescribed will be calculated and compared between intervention and control groups.
Up to 6 months post intervention
Post-operative average daily morphine
Time Frame: Up to 6 months post intervention
Will be extracted from the electronic medical record via chart review. Average daily morphine equivalent dose will be calculated and compared between intervention and control groups.
Up to 6 months post intervention
Length of stay
Time Frame: Up to 6 months post intervention
Will be extracted from the electronic medical record via chart review.
Up to 6 months post intervention

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.
Ohio State University Comprehensive 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: Maryanna Klatt, PhD, Ohio State University Comprehensive 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.
March 14, 2025

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.
July 31, 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.
July 31, 2027

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).
March 25, 2025

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.
April 22, 2025

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.
April 29, 2025

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.
May 7, 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.
May 1, 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.
May 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.
  • OSU-24146
  • NCI-2025-01389 (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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