Clinical trial · Interventional
COMpassion FOcused Therapy and Breathing Pattern REtraining After Cancer Recurrence
A Randomised Control Trial Comparing Compassion Focused Therapy and Breathing Pattern Retraining With Treatment as Usual in Patients Diagnosed With Cancer Recurrence During COVID.
NCT05518591CI-TRIAL-00060570COMFORTunknownN/AClinicalTrials.gov clinicaltrialsProvenance
- 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)
The purpose of this study is to investigate how effective a particular psychological intervention is at reducing psychological distress for people who were diagnosed with cancer 'recurrence' since the beginning of the COVID pandemic.
Conditions
Conditions (2)
Free-text conditions as registered, with the CancerIndex entity they were reconciled to and the match type.
| Condition (as posted) | Mapped entity | Match | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cancer Recurrence | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
| Psychological Distress | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
Interventions
Interventions (1)
| Intervention | Type | Mapped drug | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) combined with Breathing Pattern Retraining (BPR) | Behavioral | — | UNRESOLVED |
Design
Arms and outcomes
Arms (2)
- type
- EXPERIMENTAL
- label
- CFT & BPR
- description
- 6-week, virtual, psychological therapy group involving compassion focused therapy and breathing pattern retraining. This group involves exercises in practicing self-compassion, emotional regulation, and breathing retraining.
- interventionNames
- Behavioral: Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) combined with Breathing Pattern Retraining (BPR)
- type
- NO_INTERVENTION
- label
- Treatment As Usual
- description
- Those in the treatment as usual arm are not being asked to engage in anything additional to their regular treatment plan. They will, however, be given the option to participate in the psychological intervention after the study has ended, if they elect to do so.
Primary outcomes (1)
- measure
- Overall Distress Score
- timeFrame
Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
- Sex
- All
- Minimum age
- 18 Years
Show eligibility criteria text
Inclusion Criteria: * adults aged 18 or older * pre-existing cancer diagnosis * diagnosis of cancer recurrence during COVID-19 (March 2020 onwards) * Living in Ireland * English speaking / fluency * Access to web / tech support Exclusion Criteria: * A score \<4 on the Distress Thermometer * Patient non-consent * The presence of a severe mental illness (such as schizophrenia, personality disorder or active illness) * Known or suspected drug or alcohol abuse problems within past 3 months * Inability to follow the study procedures e.g. dementia or non-fluency of English * Life expectancy \<3 months
References
Publications (1)
- DERIVEDLynch S, Lowry D, Finnerty C, O'Meara Y, Brennan D. The COMFORT trial: a randomised control trial comparing group-based COMpassion-FOcussed therapy and breathing pattern ReTraining with treatment as usual on the psychological functioning of patients diagnosed with cancer recurrence during COVID. Trials. 2023 Feb 6;24(1):89. doi: 10.1186/s13063-023-07088-4. PMID 36747246