Improving Management of Breathlessness in Patients With Lung Cancer

Completed · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Breathlessness, Dyspnea, Lung Cancer

In brief

Many individuals with lung cancer experience debilitating breathlessness at some point during the course of their illness. Unfortunately, few interventions exist to treat this distressing symptom of cancer. In this study, the investigators plan on recruiting individuals with lung cancer to participate in a behavioral intervention to help relieve breathlessness. The principal investigator of the study, Dr. Joseph Greer, is a licensed clinical psychologist who has trained nurse practitioners in how to deliver the behavioral intervention. The nurse practitioners will meet with patients diagnosed with lung cancer during their outpatient oncology appointments, such as chemotherapy infusions, to review the behavioral skills that may help with breathlessness. Specifically, the intervention includes education about the relationship between breathlessness and the stress response as well as teaches patients skills for breathing control and relaxation of the body. For this single-group pilot study, the investigators will ask participants to provide feedback about whether they found the intervention acceptable and effective. Participants will also complete questionnaires about their physical and psychological symptoms before and after the intervention in order to measure its effectiveness for treating breathlessness and any distress related to breathlessness. The data from this study will help inform improvements to the intervention in order to make it feasible and effective for treating breathlessness in patients with lung cancer.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT01937637

Run by

Massachusetts General Hospital

People needed

32

Starts

2013-07-01

Expected to finish

2014-11-01

Last updated by the study team

2015-07-21

Who can join

Age: 18 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Clinical diagnosis of stage III and IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) or extensive stage small-cell lung cancer (SCLC)
• Must be an adult (age greater than 18 years)
• Must receive cancer treatment (radiation or chemotherapy) within the ambulatory clinics of the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer
• Must have an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Performance Status ranging from 0 (asymptomatic) to 2 (symptomatic but in bed less than 50% of time)
• Must have moderate breathlessness (i.e., a score of 2 or greater) on the Modified Medical Research Council Dyspnea Scale

You may not qualify if…

• Any untreated major mental illness or neuropsychiatric deficit prohibiting informed consent and/or ability to complete study procedures.

Where it is running

• Massachusetts General Hospital — Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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