Effectiveness of a Psycho-educational Group (PEG) Intervention on Supportive Care and Survivorship Issues in Early-stage Breast Cancer Survivors Who Have Received Systemic Treatment

September 20, 2016 updated by: Alexandre Chan, National University of Singapore

As cancer mortality rates improve in Asia, there is an increasing focus on patient-reported outcomes and survivorship issues. In view of the numerous medication and psychosocial issues that are commonly faced by early-stage breast cancer survivors, it deems important to develop and conduct specific interventional programs to mitigate these problems. In the literature, it is well recognized that psychosocial interventions are effective to manage emotional distress and quality of life, with the evidence clearly clustered in studies on female patients with breast cancer. One meta-analysis suggested that psycho-oncologic interventions including individual psychotherapy, group psychotherapy, psychoeducation, relaxing training can produce positive effects on emotional distress, anxiety and depression, and health-related QOL.

The investigators hypothesize that a significant reduction in anxiety, improvement of cognition and improvement of health-related quality of life among those who receive psycho-education, in comparison to those in the usual care. Hence, this randomized trial is designed to assess the effectiveness of a psycho-educational group (PEG) intervention on supportive care and survivorship issues, which include anxiety, depression, cognitive function, toxicities management of cancer- or treatment- related physical symptoms, and health-related quality of life in early-stage breast cancer patients.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

80

Phase

  • Phase 2

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

  • Singapore
      • Singapore, Singapore, 169610
        • National Cancer Centre Singapore

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

Ages Eligible for Study

21 years to 99 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

Female

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients diagnosed with breast cancer were included if they met the following criteria:

    • 21 years or older
    • able to read and understand either English or Mandarin
    • diagnosis of Stages 1-3 breast cancer by a medical oncologist
    • completed adjuvant cytotoxic treatment

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Diagnosed with severe psychiatric diagnosis such as severe cognitive disorders, mood disorders (psychiatric disorders requiring hospitalization) or serious personality disorders).

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: Health Services Research
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Intervention Arm
On the basis of previous studies that evaluated PEG interventions for women with breast cancer, a structured program based on the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) principles was developed. Patients in the PEG group will be involved in three sessions of psychoeducation. The PEG program is designed to cover the various aspects outlined by the IOM on quality cancer survivorship. This program is designed to take place on three individual days on a weekend. For each session, three major topics will be covered, with lectures and interactive workshop integrated. Sessions will be conducted by healthcare professionals who are experts/well-versed in their respective domains.
Behavioral: Psychoeducation group
On the basis of previous studies that evaluated PEG interventions for women with breast cancer, a structured program based on the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) principles was developed. Patients in the PEG group will be involved in three sessions of psychoeducation. The PEG program is designed to cover the various aspects outlined by the IOM on quality cancer survivorship.
Placebo Comparator: Usual Care
No active intervention provided.
Behavioral: Usual Care
Usual Care

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Severity of anxiety, as measured using Beck Anxiety Inventory
Time Frame: Within one month after the program
Within one month after the program
Quality of life
Time Frame: Within one month after the program
Within one month after the program

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Severity of cognitive dysfunction, as measured using FACT-Cog
Time Frame: Within one month after the program
Within one month after the program
Severity of symptom burden, as measured using Rotterdam Symptom Checklist
Time Frame: Within one month after the program
Within one month after the program

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

National University of Singapore

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Alexandre Chan, PharmD, National University of Singapore

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.

General Publications

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

July 1, 2015

Primary Completion (Actual)

January 1, 2016

Study Completion (Actual)

March 1, 2016

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

November 4, 2015

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 6, 2015

First Posted (Estimate)

November 9, 2015

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

September 22, 2016

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 20, 2016

Last Verified

September 1, 2016

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 201504-00102

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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