Acceptance-Based Treatment for Prostate Cancer Distress

Veterans Medical Research Foundation

Status: Completed

Conditions: Early Stage Prostate Cancer

Treatments: Behavioral: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT01594593

110353

Details and patient eligibility

About

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most common type of cancer in men and the second leading cause of death in American men. Those diagnosed with localized prostate cancer encounter three sources of psychological distress: 1) diagnosis itself, 2) treatment decision making, and 3) the often life-altering side effects of treatment. In addition, patients who choose to undergo active surveillance which focuses on monitoring cancer in lieu of treatment, experience distress related to living with cancer. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is an established psychosocial intervention that has been used extensively for mental health treatment and has shown benefits for various chronic conditions. ACT is a behavioral intervention that focuses on tolerating distress and improving function. This pilot study is designed to test the feasibility of ACT for distress reduction and improved quality of life in patients recently diagnosed with early-stage, localized PCa.

Enrollment: 24 patients

Sex: Male

Ages: 18 to 80 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Localized prostate cancer in Stages I or II
• Ability to give informed consent
• Age 18 to 80 years old
• Willingness to come in for a day long intervention

Exclusion criteria

• Acute psychosis
• Suicidal ideation
• Homicidal ideation
• Active substance abuse
• Dementia

Trial design

Primary purpose: Supportive Care

Allocation: Non-Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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24 participants in 2 patient groups

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

Experimental group

Description:

Group-based behavioral workshop to address cancer-related distress

Treatment:

Behavioral: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

treatment as usual

No Intervention group