Understanding the Role of MyCareGorithm as a Visual Digital Platforms in Cancer Treatment Education and Patient Comprehension of Oncology Treatment Plans

September 28, 2026 updated by: M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

The purpose of this research study is to learn if a digital communication tool can improve how well patients with head and neck cancer and their caregivers understand the disease and treatment plan after their first consultation visit with the doctor/nurse practitioner.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Primary Objective:

The primary objective of this pilot study is to determine whether use of a novel digital visual communication tool improves patient understanding and satisfaction with their initial multidisciplinary consultation for head and neck and prostate cancer. Specifically, the study seeks to answer the scientific question:

• Do at least 75% of newly diagnosed head and neck and prostate cancer patients report being "satisfied" (≥4 positive responses on a 6-item survey) after use of the digital communication tool, and is this proportion significantly greater than 50%?

Secondary Objectives:

Caregiver Understanding and Satisfaction

• What proportion of caregivers of newly diagnosed patients report satisfaction with their understanding of the patient's disease and treatment after using the tool, and how confident can we be in this estimate (95% Clopper-Pearson CI)?

Provider Experience and Communication Effectiveness

• What proportion of providers report satisfaction (≥5 positive responses on a 7-item survey) with the tool's ability to improve communication efficiency and consultation quality for patients they treated?

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

94

Phase

  • 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 Locations

  • United States
    • Texas
      • Houston, Texas, United States, 77030
        • UT MD Anderson
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Steven Frank, MD

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

18 years to 100 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Patients

  • Adults aged 18 to 100 years.
  • Diagnosed with head and neck cancer (all histologies included).
  • Receiving treatment for head and neck and prostate cancer at MDACC
  • Able to speak and understand English

Caregivers

  • Adults (≥18 years old).
  • Identified as a caregiver to a patient who meets the above patient inclusion criteria.
  • Able to speak and understand English.

Providers

  • Doctors or nurse practitioners practicing in the field of radiation oncology and actively participating in initial consultations for patients with head and neck cancer and prostate cancer.
  • Must complete the provider survey after the consultation.

Exclusion Criteria:

Patients

  • Individuals without a diagnosis of head and neck cancer or prostate cancer.
  • Patients who do not speak English (since the digital tool is not translated).

Caregivers

  • Adults who are not caregivers of the eligible patient
  • Caregivers who do not speak English (tool not translated).

Providers

  • Doctors or nurse practitioners not practicing in the field of radiation oncology and not part of the initial consultation process.

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: Device Feasibility
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Patient/Caregiver: Use of MyCareGorithm

Following use of the digital visual communication tool by the provider, patients and any accompanying caregivers will be asked to complete their surveys via REDCap. Providers will complete their survey immediately after the consultation with each participating patient, also via REDCap. Each survey requires approximately 5 minutes to complete. No follow-up surveys or repeat administrations are planned.
Other: Survey

A 6-item structured questionnaire with Yes/No response options, followed by one open-ended free-text question.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Safety and Adverse Events (AEs)
Time Frame: Through study completion; an average of 1 year

Incidence of Adverse Events, Graded According to National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (NCI CTCAE) Version (v) 5.0
Through study completion; an average of 1 year

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Steven J Frank, MD, UT MD Anderson

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 (Estimated)

March 1, 2027

Primary Completion (Estimated)

December 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 1, 2029

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 28, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 28, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

October 1, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

October 1, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 28, 2026

Last Verified

September 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 2026-1108
  • NCI-2026-07264 (Other Identifier: NCI-CTRP Clinical Trials Registry)

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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