Effects of Meditation on Cognitive Function and Quality of Life

Completed · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Breast Cancer

In brief

The goal of this research study is to test Tibetan meditation as a therapy to teach cancer patients to change their brain functioning and to improve quality of life. Researchers want to compare the cancer patients' outcomes to people who have never had cancer.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT02162329

Run by

M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

People needed

35

Starts

2013-10-22

Expected to finish

2022-10-18

Last updated by the study team

2022-10-20

Who can join

Age: 35 and older, up to 65. Sex: female. Healthy volunteers: accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Stage I - III female breast cancer patients who have undergone chemotherapy (either neoadjuvant or adjuvant) 6 - 60 months prior to recruitment
• Report cognitive impairment since starting chemotherapy as assessed by four questions from the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy Cognitive Scale (FACT-Cog)
• 35 to 65 years old
• Able to read, write and speak English, Spanish, or Portuguese
• Willing to come to MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC) or Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein (HIAE) for the meditation sessions and assessment sessions
• Right handed (qEEG database comparison is specific to handedness. By requiring all participants be right handed, we will be consistent across EEG analysis.)
• (PILOT PARTICIPANTS AND HEALTHY CONTROLS ONLY: Women with no history of cancer)
• (PILOT PARTICIPANTS AND HEALTHY CONTROLS ONLY: No history of prior chemotherapy)
• (PILOT PARTICIPANTS AND HEALTHY CONTROLS ONLY: 35 to 65 years old)
• (PILOT PARTICIPANTS AND HEALTHY CONTROLS ONLY: Able to read, write, and speak English, Spanish, or Portuguese)
• (PILOT PARTICIPANTS AND HEALTHY CONTROLS ONLY: Willing to come to MDACC and HIAE for the assessment session)
• (PILOT PARTICIPANTS AND HEALTHY CONTROLS ONLY: Right handed)

You may not qualify if…

• Diagnosis of a formal thought disorder (e.g., schizophrenia)
• Any past neurologic insult that is known to affect brain function such as traumatic brain injury, dementia, encephalopathy, etc.
• Mini-Mental State Examination score of 23 or below
• Recurrent cancer
• History of a neurological or psychological disorder that may interfere with the patient's ability to cooperate with study procedures
• Factors contraindicated to fMRI
• Any extreme mobility issues (e.g. unable to get in or out of a chair unassisted, extremity issues such as neuropathy that limits physical manipulation of objects
• Regularly practiced meditation (greater than once per week) in the year prior to study enrollment
• (PILOT PARTICIPANTS AND HEALTHY CONTROLS ONLY: Diagnosis of a formal thought disorder (e.g. schizophrenia))
• (PILOT PARTICIPANTS AND HEALTHY CONTROLS ONLY: Mini-Mental State Examination score of 23 or below)
• (PILOT PARTICIPANTS AND HEALTHY CONTROLS ONLY: Undergoing chemotherapy)
• (PILOT PARTICIPANTS AND HEALTHY CONTROLS ONLY: Mini-Mental State Examination score of 23 or below)
• (PILOT PARTICIPANTS AND HEALTHY CONTROLS ONLY: Any extreme mobility issues (e.g. unable to get in or out of a chair unassisted, extremity issues such as neuropathy that limits physical manipulation of objects)
• (PILOT PARTICIPANTS AND HEALTHY CONTROLS ONLY: Primary caretaker of a cancer patient)
• (PILOT PARTICIPANTS AND HEALTHY CONTROLS ONLY: Patients who have regularly practiced meditation (greater than once per week) in the year prior to study enrollment)

Where it is running

• University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center — Houston, Texas, United States
• Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein (HIAE) — São Paulo, Brazil

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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