Clinical trial · Interventional
Fear of Cancer Recurrence Therapy (FORT): Turkish Cultural Adaptation and Implementation Project
- 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)
This research consists of two phases. The aim of the first study is to adapt the group work module of Fear of Cancer Recurrence (FCR) for FCR in survivors of breast and ovarian cancer patients to the Turkish culture. For cultural adaptation, a process consisting of four stages is planned to be followed based on the World Health Organisation (WHO) and ecological validity model: 1) literature review; 2) translation of the intervention manual from English to Turkish and evaluation of the translation by experts; 3) cognitive interviews with ovarian and breast cancer patients and experts working in the field of psychooncology about the sections of the translated manual; and 4) an adaptation workshop where data from the previous stages were collected and analysed. The aim of the second study, 6-week, 120-minute FCR (n= 68) or CBT intervention (n= 68) group sessions with participants from ovarian and breast cancer patients. They will be completing questionnaires at baseline (T0), post-treatment right after treatment ends (T1), 3 months (T2), and 6 months (T3) post-treatment. A generalized linear model will be used for the analysis of collected data, incorporating customized analyses such as ANCOVA for repeated measures and analysis of variance for repeated measures. The primary outcome will be compared to the Fear of Cancer Recurrence Inventory (FCRI) total score and group differences in secondary outcomes. With this project, it is aimed to bring the group intervention module for FCR, which is a common problem in surviving cancer patients that will greatly contribute to the psycho-oncology practice in Turkiye. In addition, it is thought that this project is important both because there is no study on cancer survivors and FCR in this context and cultural adaptation studies are crucially limited in Turkey.
Conditions
Conditions (7)
Free-text conditions as registered, with the CancerIndex entity they were reconciled to and the match type.
| Condition (as posted) | Mapped entity | Match | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anxiety | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
| Cancer Coping | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
| Depression Not Otherwise Specified | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
| Fear of Cancer Recurrence | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
| Intolerance of Uncertainty | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
| Quality of Life (QOL) | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
| Self Efficacy | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
Interventions
Interventions (2)
| Intervention | Type | Mapped drug | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) group | Behavioral | — | UNRESOLVED |
| Fear of cancer recurrence therapy (FORT) | Behavioral | — | UNRESOLVED |
Design
Arms and outcomes
Arms (2)
- type
- EXPERIMENTAL
- label
- Experimental Group
- description
- FORT consists of 6 sessions in total, the scopes of the sessions are detailed below: Session 1 (Acquiring new skills to cope with Fear of Cancer Recurrence (FCR)) HOMEWORK: Daily practice of progressive muscle relaxation exercise; creation of a thought record Session 2 (Providing information on symptoms of cancer recurrence and increasing tolerance to uncertainty) HOMEWORK: Listening to recordings of relaxation exercises every day; practising self-calming, keeping a record of thoughts Session 3 (Developing coping skills) HOMEWORK: Practise guided imagery daily; debunk erroneous beliefs about the benefits of worrying; keep a thought log Session 4 (Deepening the underlying fears) HOMEWORK: Reading the worst case fear scenario every day, practising daily self-care and mindfulness practices Session 5 (Moving beyond specific fears) HOMEWORK: Writing goals and priorities for the future Session 6 (Review and conclusion) Reviewing all the discussed content
- interventionNames
- Behavioral: Fear of cancer recurrence therapy (FORT)
- type
- ACTIVE_COMPARATOR
- label
- Control Group (active comparator)
- description
- The cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) oriented control group consisted of a total of 6 sessions. The scopes of the sessions are given in detail below. Session 1: Introduction and cancer-focused psychoeducation with CBT HOMEWORK: Keeping a thought diary Session 2: Addressing the underlying causes of thoughts HOMEWORK: Keeping a thought diary about underlying beliefs Session 3: Recognising conflicts HOMEWORK: Task: Keep a diary of thoughts about disagreements (what gives us pleasure and what we should master) Session 4: Effective communication techniques HOMEWORK: Keeping a diary about the use of the word "good enough" Session 5: Discussion of the definitions of anxiety and depression Session 6: Anger Management HOMEWORK: HOMEWORK: Keeping a diary about the use of the breathing exercise
Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
- Sex
- Female
- Minimum age
- 18 Years
- Maximum age
- 65 Years
Show eligibility criteria text
Inclusion Criteria: * Participants who are under 18 years of age * Participants whose primary treatment (chemotherapy, radiotherapy, surgery) has been completed (adjuvant treatment such as hormone therapy may be continued can be accepted into the study). * Participants with stage I-III breast cancer and ovarian cancer who have completed treatment less than 5 years ago and whose disease is in remission. * Participants who receive cut-off scores of 10 or above for the anxiety and 7 or above for the depression Hospital and Anxiety Scale. * Participants who score 4 for depression and 5 for anxiety and distress for the Emotion Thermometer. Exclusion Criteria: * Participants over 65 years of age * Participants who experience of recurrence/metastasis * Participants who has mental retardation * Participants who do not possess Turkish language skills * Participants who have another comorbid physical illness that causes disability * Participants who were diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder.
References
Publications (1)
- DERIVEDEyrenci A, Ertuna L, Bahcivan O. Preliminary Outcomes of a Culturally Adapted Fear of Recurrence Therapy (FORT) for Turkish Breast Cancer Survivors: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Psychooncology. 2025 Dec;34(12):e70345. doi: 10.1002/pon.70345. PMID 41318944