Cancer Oriented Understanding and Navigation Via Supportive and Educational Language Models (COUNSEL)

September 24, 2026 updated by: University of California, San Francisco

A randomized, open-label behavioral study designed to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and early impact of a large language model (LLM)-based artificial intelligence (AI) tool to support patient understanding following an initial oncology consultation.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet 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 evaluate the impact of a LLM-based intervention on patients' perceived quality, breadth, and depth of cancer-related information following a radiation or surgical oncology consult.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:

I. To assess patient- and provider-perceived levels of shared decision making. II. To evaluate changes in patient-reported distress. III. To compare concordance between patient and provider perceptions of shared decision making.

EXPLORATORY OBJECTIVES:

I. To identify qualitative themes and usage patterns in patient interactions with the LLM.

II. To evaluate resource utilization based on information-seeking behavior logs collected during follow-up.

OUTLINE: Participants will be randomized to an intervention or control arm. Participants will attend two teleconference meetings: the first within 2 days after an oncology consultation and a follow-up session approximately 21 days later. Participants will also complete study surveys and logs.

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.
50

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.
  • Name: UCSF Genitourinary Medical Oncology Recruitment
  • Phone Number: 877-827-3222
  • Email: GUTrials@ucsf.edu

Study Locations

  • United States
    • California
      • San Francisco, California, United States, 94143
        • University of California, San Francisco
        • Contact:
          • UCSF Genitourinary Medical Oncology Recruitment
          • Phone Number: 877-827-3222
          • Email: GUTrials@ucsf.edu
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Julian Hong, MD, MS

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

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Age ≥18 years.
  2. Histologically or cytologically confirmed diagnosis of localized prostate cancer
  3. Newly diagnosed and planning to undergo or recently completed a radiation or surgical oncology consult at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)
  4. Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0-2
  5. English-speaking and able to participate in study teleconferences
  6. Ability to understand and willingness to sign a written informed consent document
  7. Access to a device and internet connection sufficient for teleconference participation

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Prior definitive treatment for prostate cancer (e.g., surgery, radiation, or systemic therapy)
  2. Cognitive, sensory, or language impairment that would interfere with the ability to understand, participate in, or complete the study procedures
  3. Inability or unwillingness to participate in two study-related teleconferences
  4. Current enrollment in another interventional clinical trial that may interfere with study participation
  5. Inability to comply with protocol requirements (e.g., completing surveys or using the information-tracking log)

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: Intervention Arm

AI teleconferences with Large Language Model (LLM) interaction
Behavioral: AI-guided COUNSEL Intervention

An AI-guided, interactive educational tool that allows participants to interact with a large language model (LLM) will be delivered via teleconference.

Behavioral: Questionnaires

Participant and clinicians will complete questionnaires
Placebo Comparator: Control Arm

AI teleconferences without LLM interaction
Behavioral: Questionnaires

Participant and clinicians will 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
Mean differences on EORTC QLQ-INFO25 - Patient-Perceived Cancer-Related Information
Time Frame: Up to 2 days

Patient-perceived quality, breadth, and depth of cancer-related information received following an oncology consultation, as measured by the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-INFO25) survey. The EORTC QLQ-INFO25 comprises four multi-item scales and eight single items to assess the level and quality of information received by cancer patients. Scores for all scales and single items range from 0-100. The survey uses a 4-point Likert scale (1 = "not at all' to 4 = "very much") and some yes/no questions. Higher scores represent a greater patient-perceived level of shared decision-making. Mean differences between treatment groups will be reported with 95% confidence intervals, along with Hedges' g effect sizes. A Mann-Whitney U test will be used for sensitivity analysis.
Up to 2 days

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
Mean differences on SDM-Q-9 and SDM-Q-Doc - Patient- and Provider-Perceived Shared Decision Making
Time Frame: Day 21

Perceived shared decision making will be assessed from both patient and clinician perspectives using the 9-item Shared Decision Making Questionnaire (SDM-Q-9) and the Shared Decision Making Questionnaire-Physician Version (SDM-Q-Doc), respectively. Each item is rated on a 6-point Likert scale from 0 (completely disagree) to 5 (completely agree), with total scores ranging from 0 to 45. Higher scores indicate greater perceived levels of shared decision making from the patient or clinician perspective. Mean differences between groups will be reported using Welch's t-test, along with the 95% confidence intervals.
Day 21
Mean differences on NCCN Distress Thermometer - Patient-Reported Distress
Time Frame: Up to 21 days

Patient-reported distress will be assessed using the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Distress Thermometer at Day 2 and Day 21. The Distress Thermometer is a single-item measure rated on a 0-10 scale, where 0 = "No distress" and 10 = "Extreme distress. Mean differences will be reported with 95% confidence intervals, along with Hedges' g effect sizes and 95% confidence intervals. Descriptive statistics will also be reported.
Up to 21 days
Patient-Provider Concordance in Shared Decision Making
Time Frame: Day 21

Concordance between patient and provider perceptions of shared decision making will be assessed by comparing SDM-Q-9 and SDM-Q-Doc scores within each study arm. Concordance will be evaluated using an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Bland-Altman plots will be used to visualize treatment group differences in concordance. ICC estimates and Bland-Altman plots will be reported.
Day 21

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 California, San Francisco

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: Julian Hong, MD, MS, University of California, San Francisco

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 (Estimated)

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.
October 31, 2026

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.
November 30, 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.
April 30, 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).
September 17, 2026

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 17, 2026

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 23, 2026

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.
September 28, 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.
September 24, 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.
September 1, 2026

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.
  • 26558
  • NCI-2026-06916 (Registry Identifier: NCI Clinical Trials Reporting System (CTRP))

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

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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