Meaning-Centered Intervention for Muslim Patients Who Are Being Treated for Advanced Cancer

Pilot of a Meaning-Centered Intervention for Muslims Undergoing Treatment for Stage III or IV Cancer

This study will compare the effectiveness of the Masterful supportive care intervention with that of the non-faith-based active control supportive care intervention, which uses the American Cancer Society's patient education materials, for Muslim patients who have advanced cancers.

All 3 sessions may occur within one week or over multiple weeks (nonconsecutively), depending on the participants preference. The participant will have up to 12 weeks from recruitment to complete all sessions and follow up surveys.

Study Overview

• Status: Active, not recruiting
• Conditions: Advanced Cancer
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Masterful supportive care; Other: Attention control supportive care

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 19
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • New York
    • New York, New York, United States, 10065
      • Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

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

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• ≥ 18 years of age
• identify, either as self-report or on the MSKCC EMR, as Muslim
• are in treatment including surveillance, for a confirmed diagnosis of stage III or IV cancer (solid or liquid) as per clinician or pathology report
• have an estimated life expectancy of at least 6 months, as determined by their primary oncologist
• are cognitively intact (oncologist's clinical impression or judgement of study staff)
• able to speak and read English or Arabic (self-reported preference or on the MSKCC EMR system).
• To assess English proficiency, participants will be asked two questions: (1) the Census limited English proficient item "How well do you speak English?" with response options "Not at all, Not well, Well, or Very well" and (2) "What is your preferred language for healthcare?"
• Participants who are eligible for the study and are fluent in English will be identified by the response "Very well" to the 1st question and a response indicating English as the preferred language for healthcare.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Major psychiatric illness or cognitive impairment that in the judgment of the study investigators or study staff would preclude study participation
• patients diagnosed with primary brain tumors as per clinician report, as they may have difficulty completing the intervention and answering the questionnaires
• undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) as per clinican report or the EMR
• currently in psychotherapeutic treatment. Symptoms of anxiety and depression are common among patients with stage III or IV cancer. Antidepressants, anxiolytics, and other psychotropic medications do not diminish the effects of psychotherapy; thus we will not exclude patients who are being treated with these medications, as long as they are not in psychotherapy.

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
Experimental: Masterful supportive care; This intervention uses teachings, discussions, and exercises about personal experiences that focus on specific topics related to meaning and cancer. For example, we may discuss what is meaningful in your life, how you identify yourself before and after cancer, and your hopes for the future. The Masterful intervention is available in both English and Arabic, and it will be delivered by a trained bilingual member of the study team. It includes 3 weekly (or at participant's preference) 1-hour sessions with a member of the study team. The sessions for either the treatment or the control arm will take place in-person in a private room at MSKCC or via teleconference, depending on the patients preference. Meeting one-on-one with an interventionist was feasible in our pilot study and will enhance relationship-building between interventionist and patient. Participants will have the option to meet with the interventionist via teleconference in order to reduce in-person contact burden.	Other: Masterful supportive care; Three study questionnaires: Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General* (FACT-G), Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy- Spiritual Well-Being* (FACIT-Sp) Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale Short Form* (MSAS-SF)
Active Comparator: Attention control supportive care; This intervention uses the American Cancer Society's patient education materials. These sessions will include discussions about managing a self-identified current problem in your life. The attention control supportive care intervention is available in both English and Arabic, and it will be delivered by a trained bilingual member of the study team. It includes 3 weekly (or at participant's preference) 1-hour sessions with a member of the study team. The sessions for either the treatment or the control arm will take place in-person in a private room at MSKCC or via teleconference, depending on the patients preference. Meeting one-on-one with an interventionist was feasible in our pilot study and will enhance relationship-building between interventionist and patient. Participants will have the option to meet with the interventionist via teleconference in order to reduce in-person contact burden.	Other: Attention control supportive care; Three study questionnaires: Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General* (FACT-G), Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy- Spiritual Well-Being* (FACIT-Sp) Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale Short Form* (MSAS-SF)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
number of enrolled participants completing at least one psychotherapy session out of the planned three.	1 year

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
• Collaborators: UConn Health
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Francesca Gany, MD, PhD, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Publications and helpful links

Helpful Links

• Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): June 15, 2020
• Primary Completion (Estimated): June 1, 2024
• Study Completion (Estimated): June 1, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: June 15, 2020
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 16, 2020
• First Posted (Actual): June 17, 2020

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): August 31, 2023
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 30, 2023
• Last Verified: August 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Meaning-Centered Intervention; Masterful intervention; 20-018
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Neoplasms
• Other Study ID Numbers: 20-018

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center supports the international committee of medical journal editors (ICMJE) and the ethical obligation of responsible sharing of data from clinical trials. The protocol summary, a statistical summary, and informed consent form will be made available on clinicaltrials.gov when required as a condition of Federal awards, other agreements supporting the research and/or as otherwise required. Requests for deidentified individual participant data can be made beginning 12 months after publication and for up to 36 months post publication. Deidentified individual participant data reported in the manuscript will be shared under the terms of a Data Use Agreement and may only be used for approved proposals. Requests may be made to: crdatashare@mskcc.org.

Drug and device information, study documents

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