Clinical trial · Interventional
Feasibility and Acceptability of a Virtual 'Coping With Brain Fog' Intervention for Young Adults With Cancer
Feasibility and Acceptability of a Virtual 'Coping With Brain Fog' Intervention for Adolescents and Young Adults With Cancer
- 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)
Cancer-related cognitive problems, also known as "brain fog", have a significant impact on patients with cancer and cancer survivors. Previous studies indicate that cancer and cancer treatments can negatively affect memory, attention and thinking abilities. Adolescents and young adults (AYAs) are individuals with a cancer diagnosis, who are currently between 18 to 40 years old. These individuals are especially vulnerable to brain fog symptoms due to the effect these symptoms have on their education, employment, health behaviors, mental health, and social relationships. There is a clear need for programming directed at brain fog symptoms among AYAs with cancer diagnoses. The 'Coping with Brain Fog' program, developed by Maximum Capacity Inc., is an eight-week group program that has been designed to educate patients about their brain fog symptoms and develop strategies to manage these symptoms. In this study the investigators will aim to determine the feasibility of adapting the 'Coping with Brain Fog' program to the virtual setting for AYAs with cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic. The investigators will also aim to explore the efficacy of the program on cognitive functioning and symptoms of anxiety, depression and fatigue. This study is an important step towards finding ways to treat brain fog symptoms in cancer patients, and could help guide future studies and programs.
Conditions
Conditions (5)
Free-text conditions as registered, with the CancerIndex entity they were reconciled to and the match type.
| Condition (as posted) | Mapped entity | Match | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adolescents | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
| Cancer | Malignant Neoplasm | ALIAS | 0.90 |
| Cognitive Dysfunction | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
| Cognitive Impairment | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
| Young Adults | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
Interventions
Interventions (1)
| Intervention | Type | Mapped drug | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| 'Coping with Brain Fog' program | Behavioral | — | UNRESOLVED |
Design
Arms and outcomes
Arms (1)
- type
- EXPERIMENTAL
- label
- "Coping with Brain Fog" intervention
- interventionNames
- Behavioral: 'Coping with Brain Fog' program
Primary outcomes (2)
- measure
- Adherence
- timeFrame
- Adherence will be assessed at the end of the 8-week intervention.
- description
- The investigators will measure the adherence to the intervention by measuring attendance at the weekly sessions. The intervention will be considered feasible if 60% of participants do not miss the first two sessions and any two consecutive sessions.
- measure
- Participant Satisfaction - Client Satisfaction Questionnaire
- timeFrame
- Participant Satisfaction will be measured at the end of the 8-week intervention.
- description
- The participants' satisfaction with the program will be measured using The Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ), an 8-item self-report scale which will be administered at the end of the intervention to assess the participant satisfaction. Each item on this scale is scored from 1 to 4, generating a total score ranging from 8 to 32. A total score of 8-20 indicates low satisfaction, whereas total scores of 21-26 and 27-32 indicate medium and higher satisfaction, respectively.
Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
- Sex
- All
- Minimum age
- 18 Years
- Maximum age
- 40 Years
Show eligibility criteria text
Inclusion Criteria: * Age 18-40 years * Diagnosed with any type or stage of cancer * Seeking intervention for self-reported symptoms of brain fog (such as poor memory, mental slowness, or task insufficiency) * Must be currently living in Manitoba, Nunavut or Northwest Ontario * Must be able to attend eight virtual sessions of the 'Coping with Brain Fog' intervention * Must have reliable access to the internet and the audio-visual platform Zoom * Should also be able to read, speak and write English (as the sessions will be conducted in English) Exclusion Criteria: * Age younger than 18 or older than 40 years at the time of enrollment * Must not have a previously diagnosed severe intellectual disability (self-reported by the participants) * Should not be receiving any new interventions to enhance their cognitive function during the period of this study * Must attend the first two sessions and should not miss two consecutive sessions (if a participant misses two consecutive sessions due to extenuating circumstances, they will be encouraged to withdraw from the group and be prioritized on the wait-list for the next brain fog group)
References
Publications (12)
- BACKGROUNDHardy SJ, Krull KR, Wefel JS, Janelsins M. Cognitive Changes in Cancer Survivors. Am Soc Clin Oncol Educ Book. 2018 May 23;38:795-806. doi: 10.1200/EDBK_201179. PMID 30231372
- BACKGROUNDJean-Pierre P, Winters PC, Ahles TA, Antoni M, Armstrong FD, Penedo F, Lipshultz SE, Miller TL, Fiscella K. Prevalence of self-reported memory problems in adult cancer survivors: a national cross-sectional study. J Oncol Pract. 2012 Jan;8(1):30-4. doi: 10.1200/JOP.2011.000231. Epub 2011 Nov 22. PMID 22548008
- BACKGROUNDPrasad PK, Hardy KK, Zhang N, Edelstein K, Srivastava D, Zeltzer L, Stovall M, Seibel NL, Leisenring W, Armstrong GT, Robison LL, Krull K. Psychosocial and Neurocognitive Outcomes in Adult Survivors of Adolescent and Early Young Adult Cancer: A Report From the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study. J Clin Oncol. 2015 Aug 10;33(23):2545-52. doi: 10.1200/JCO.2014.57.7528. Epub 2015 Jul 6. PMID 26150441
- BACKGROUNDMcDougall GJ Jr, Oliver JS, Scogin F. Memory and cancer: a review of the literature. Arch Psychiatr Nurs. 2014 Jun;28(3):180-6. doi: 10.1016/j.apnu.2013.12.005. Epub 2014 Mar 22. PMID 24856270
- BACKGROUNDAhles TA, Root JC, Ryan EL. Cancer- and cancer treatment-associated cognitive change: an update on the state of the science. J Clin Oncol. 2012 Oct 20;30(30):3675-86. doi: 10.1200/JCO.2012.43.0116. Epub 2012 Sep 24. PMID 23008308
- BACKGROUNDBarnett M, McDonnell G, DeRosa A, Schuler T, Philip E, Peterson L, Touza K, Jhanwar S, Atkinson TM, Ford JS. Psychosocial outcomes and interventions among cancer survivors diagnosed during adolescence and young adulthood (AYA): a systematic review. J Cancer Surviv. 2016 Oct;10(5):814-31. doi: 10.1007/s11764-016-0527-6. Epub 2016 Feb 26. PMID 26920873
- BACKGROUNDPerales MA, Drake EK, Pemmaraju N, Wood WA. Social Media and the Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Patient with Cancer. Curr Hematol Malig Rep. 2016 Dec;11(6):449-455. doi: 10.1007/s11899-016-0313-6.