Using Meditation for Oncology Anxiety

Using Meditation to Treat Anxiety and Improve Quality of Life in Prostate Cancer Patients Receiving Radiation Therapy

The current study is a prospective, interventional, randomized, treatment-controlled study, evaluating the use of Meditation with a Mantra (MM) to decrease anxiety levels and improve Quality of Life (QOL) in prostate cancer patients receiving radiation treatment. The study will be conducted across 6 radiation treatment sessions in men with newly diagnosed prostate cancer, Stage 1 to 3A, and men with recurrent prostate cancer. Patients will receive six radiation sessions with usual care with or without the addition of MM. MM Group patients will be given a log at the beginning of the study to record how long they are meditating and if they found meditation beneficial. The General Anxiety Disorder-7 scale (GAD-7) is a validated tool and will be used to assess anxiety in all participants. The Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Prostate, Version 4 (FACT-P) is a validated measure of QOL in prostate cancer patients and will be used to assess QOL in all participants. A one month follow up phone call will determine if the patients are continuing to use the MM and if they found the practice of MM useful not only in their radiation treatment sessions but in their everyday lives.

Study Overview

• Status: Withdrawn
• Conditions: Quality of Life; Anxiety; Prostate Cancer; Prostate Cancer Recurrent
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Mantra Meditation

Detailed Description

The current study is a prospective, interventional, randomized, treatment-controlled study, evaluating the use of MM to decrease anxiety levels and improve Quality of Life (QOL) in prostate cancer patients receiving radiation treatment. The study will be conducted across 6 radiation treatment sessions in men with newly diagnosed prostate cancer, Stage 1 to 3A, and men with recurrent prostate cancer. Approximately forty-six patients will be recruited to allow for forty patients to complete assessments. Twenty-three patients will receive six radiation sessions with MM and will be the Test Group. Twenty-three will receive usual care without MM and will be the Control Group. The Test Group will be taught how to meditate using a standard one-word mantra (Om). The first MM session would be a 30-minute introductory session prior to the first radiation treatment followed by five 20-minute sessions prior to each of the remaining five radiation treatments. The Control Group will receive radiation treatments without MM. During the five 20-minute sessions, the patients will receive a meditation refresher and reinforcement to continue to practice meditation at home. The teaching of MM during all sessions will be done by a dedicated research assistant with a Master of Science in Yoga Therapy. Test Group patients will be given a log at the beginning of the study to record how long they are meditating and if they found meditation beneficial. The General Anxiety Disorder-7 scale (GAD-7) is a validated tool and will be used to assess anxiety in all participants. The Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Prostate, Version 4 (FACT-P) is a validated measure of QOL in prostate cancer patients and will be used to assess QOL in all participants. The GAD-7 and FACT-P will be assessed at baseline, radiation Session 3 and radiation Session 6 to determine the impact of MM on anxiety and QOL, respectively, in the Test Group compared to the Control Group. A one month follow up phone call will determine if the patients are continuing to use the MM and if they found the practice of MM useful not only in their radiation treatment sessions but in their everyday lives.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Males age 18 years and older, at the time of signing the informed consent.
2. Diagnosis of prostate cancer, newly diagnosed or recurrent, scheduled to receive radiation therapy for a minimum of 6 treatments.
3. Participant is willing and able to comply with all protocol requirements and procedures.
4. Capable of giving signed informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Current treatment for anxiety with benzodiazepines.
2. Current treatment for generalized anxiety disorder with an Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor(SSRI) or Serotonin and Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors (SNRI) initiated less than 6 weeks prior to enrollment in the study. Stable therapy for greater than 6 weeks prior to enrollment will be allowed.
3. Current use of meditation treatment or therapy.
4. Significant medical conditions which are likely to result in hospitalization during the study.
5. Any conditions which may interfere with the ability to receive and follow meditation instruction or answer questionnaires.
6. Impaired due to use of drugs or alcohol.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Control Group; The Control Group participants (Group A) will be initiating radiation therapy and receiving only standard of care therapy per their Radiation Oncologist.
Experimental: Test Group; The Test Group participants (Group B) will be initiating radiation therapy and receiving standard of care therapy per their Radiation Oncologist. This group will also be taught mantra-based meditation to use during each radiation treatment session and encouraged to practice MM ad libitum outside of the treatment setting.	Other: Mantra Meditation; Mantra-based meditation will be taught using a standard one-word mantra (Om). Om is a non-English word that will help with focus as opposed to an English word which may cause distraction based on the word itself.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
General Anxiety Disorder-7 scale (GAD-7)	Validated tool to assess anxiety	Change from Baseline GAD-7 at Week 6
Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Prostate, Version 4 (FACT-P)	Validated measure of QOL in prostate cancer patients	Change from Baseline FACT-P at Week 6

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Meditation Log	A blank log will be provided for the subjects to record the date and duration of the meditation sessions along with whether the meditation took place on a radiation treatment day and if the subject thought the meditation was helpful.	From Session 1 through Session 6 (6 weeks)
Telephone Follow-up	A one month follow up phone call will determine if the patients are continuing to use the MM and if they found the practice of MM useful not only in their radiation treatment sessions but in their everyday lives.	four weeks following study completion

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Mellar Davis MD
• Collaborators: Geisinger Clinic
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Mellar Davis, MD, Geisinger Clinic

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): January 31, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): January 31, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 4, 2020
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 16, 2020
• First Posted (Actual): March 18, 2020

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): October 8, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 4, 2024
• Last Verified: October 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: quality of life; prostate cancer; anxiety; Meditation with a Mantra; radiation treatment; GAD-7; FACT-P
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Neoplasms; Urogenital Neoplasms; Neoplasms by Site; Genital Neoplasms, Male; Prostatic Diseases; Urogenital Diseases; Male Urogenital Diseases; Genital Diseases, Male; Genital Diseases; Prostatic Neoplasms; Anxiety Disorders
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2019-0958

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No