Clinical trial · Interventional
Cognitive-Existential Group Therapy to Reduce Fear of Cancer Recurrence: A RCT Study
Efficacy of a Cognitive-existential Intervention to Address Fear of Recurrence in Women With Cancer: a Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial
- Source
- ClinicalTrials.gov
- Retrieved
- Sep 8, 2026
- Layer
- normalized (units and labels harmonized; values unchanged)
- Run
- ING-CLINICALTRIALS-20260908-000001
Summary
Brief summary (as posted)
Studies show that cancer survivors have unmet needs, the most frequently cited being fear of recurrence (FCR). Moderate to high levels of FCR have been reported by as much as 49% of cancer patients and are more prevalent among women. FCR is associated with psychological distress, lower quality of life, and increased health care utilization. Little evidence exists that these problems are being addressed by current medical management.
Conditions
Conditions (4)
Free-text conditions as registered, with the CancerIndex entity they were reconciled to and the match type.
| Condition (as posted) | Mapped entity | Match | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Breast Neoplasms | Breast Neoplasm | ONTOLOGY_EXACT | 0.98 |
| Endometrial Neoplasms | Endometrial Neoplasm | ONTOLOGY_EXACT | 0.98 |
| Ovarian Neoplasms | Ovarian Neoplasm | ONTOLOGY_EXACT | 0.98 |
| Uterine Cervical Neoplasms | Cervical Neoplasm | ALIAS | 0.90 |
Interventions
Interventions (2)
| Intervention | Type | Mapped drug | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cognitive Existential Therapy Group 1 | Behavioral | — | UNRESOLVED |
| Supportive Therapy Group 2 | Behavioral | — | UNRESOLVED |
Design
Arms and outcomes
Arms (2)
- type
- EXPERIMENTAL
- label
- Group 1
- description
- Behavioral:Cognitive Existential Therapy Group 1- Weekly two-hour group sessions
- interventionNames
- Behavioral: Cognitive Existential Therapy Group 1
- type
- ACTIVE_COMPARATOR
- label
- Group 2
- description
- Behavioral: Supportive Therapy Group 2- Weekly two-hour group sessions
- interventionNames
- Behavioral: Supportive Therapy Group 2
Primary outcomes (1)
- measure
- Fear of cancer recurrence inventory
- timeFrame
- up to 12 months post-intervention follow-up
Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
- Sex
- Female
- Minimum age
- 18 Years
Show eligibility criteria text
Inclusion Criteria: 1. first diagnosis of BC or GC with stages between I-III; 2. disease-free at the start of the group; 3. women aged 18 years or older; 4. completion of treatment, with the exception of adjuvant chemotherapy or hormonal replacement therapy Exclusion Criteria: 1. non-English speakers 2. previous cancer recurrence 3. enrolled in another group psychotherapy at the time of the start of the study or during the course of the 6 sessions 4. unresolved mental health disorder judged to be clinically contra-indicated and/or likely to affect the group work, based on disclosure by the potential participant or clinically identified by the group leader.
References
Publications (1)
- BACKGROUNDMaheu C, Lebel S, Courbasson C, Lefebvre M, Singh M, Bernstein LJ, Muraca L, Benea A, Jolicoeur L, Harris C, Ramanakumar AV, Ferguson S, Sidani S. Protocol of a randomized controlled trial of the fear of recurrence therapy (FORT) intervention for women with breast or gynecological cancer. BMC Cancer. 2016 Apr 25;16:291. doi: 10.1186/s12885-016-2326-x. PMID 27112319