BMC palliative care
September 28, 2024
Catherine E Mosher, Kathleen A Beck-Coon, Wei Wu et al.
17 citations
A mindfulness-based group intervention for patients with advanced cancer and their family caregivers improved patients' existential well-being and confidence in advance care planning, while usual-care patients did not show these gains. Caregivers in the mindfulness program also reported moderate improvements in quality of life and reduced burden one month later. However, most other outcomes—including anxiety, depression, sleep disturbance, and cognitive avoidance—did not differ significantly between the mindfulness and usual-care groups. The pilot trial randomly assigned 33 patient-caregiver dyads to six weekly mindfulness sessions and 22 dyads to usual care, recruiting from five oncology clinics in the midwestern United States.
Psycho-oncology
January 1, 2024
Ellen Krueger, Ekin Secinti, Jesse C Stewart et al.
14 citations
A meta-analysis of 37 randomized controlled trials found that cognitive-behavioral and mindfulness-based interventions produce a small reduction in distress (Hedges's g = 0.21) and a minimal improvement in quality of life (Hedges's g = 0.15) for patients with advanced cancer. The two types of interventions did not differ in effectiveness. Delivering interventions to individuals rather than dyads or groups yielded larger effects on quality of life. No factors were found to moderate the effect on distress. The authors note that the small number and variable quality of studies limit the conclusions and call for more rigorous trials.
Psycho-oncology
January 1, 2024
Stella Snyder, Ekin Secinti, Kelly Chinh et al.
6 citations
A 10-item version of the Cognitive Affective Mindfulness Scale-Revised (CAMS-R) shows promise for measuring mindfulness in people with cancer. In a sample of 404 patients with breast, gastrointestinal, lung, or prostate cancer (half with stage IV cancer, 51% women), the scale's original four-factor structure (attention, present focus, awareness, acceptance) with an overall mindfulness factor fit the data reasonably well. Internal consistency was excellent. Higher mindfulness scores correlated with greater self-compassion and lower anxiety, depressive symptoms, rumination, psychological inflexibility, and avoidant coping. The scale performed consistently across genders, cancer types, and cancer stages. Further research should test whether the CAMS-R can detect changes from mindfulness interventions.