Active Surveillance (AS) is an increasingly adopted disease management approach for men diagnosed with low risk prostate cancer who meet very specific eligibility criteria. When combined with decisional ambiguity and concern regarding a choice to forgo active treatment to participate in AS, feelings of fear, uncertainty and a loss of control can arise. As a result, within 2-3 years of observation, some 25% of men who are clinically eligible for AS prematurely opt for definitive treatment. These rates can double by 5 years. Our team has conducted one of the only randomized controlled pilot studies of a therapeutic intervention called Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) to establish feasibility and preliminary efficacy of MBSR in assuaging AS-related psychosocial sequelae, such as fear of cancer progression and uncertainty, with men placed on AS and their spouses. OBJECTIVE: Examine the efficacy of MBSR with a larger, more culturally diverse, and geographically generalizable sample of men on AS and their spouses using a time and attention controlled matched condition. PRIMARY AIM: Examine Longitudinal Differences in Important, AS-Related Self- Reported Outcomes of Stress and Quality of Life Between Treatment and Control Groups Over Time. HYPOTHESIS I: MBSR group participants (n=120 men & 120 spouses) will experience significantly lower anxiety, fear of cancer progression, uncertainty intolerance, rumination, decisional regret, and higher treatment satisfaction, posttraumatic growth and global health related quality of life (HRQOL) compared to Health Promotion (n=120 men & 120 spouses). HYPOTHESIS II: Non-disease progression related attrition from AS will be associated with increased anxiety, fear of cancer progression, uncertainty intolerance, rumination, decisional regret, and lower treatment satisfaction, posttraumatic growth and global health related quality of life (HRQOL). HYPOTHESIS III: MBSR participants will display correspondingly higher rates of adherence to AS compared and Health Promotion participants. STUDY DESIGN: We will use a randomized, placebo-controlled, partially double-blinded study design to examine MBSR over 12 months (n=120 men on AS & 120 spouses), compared with a time matched control condition (n=120 men on AS & 120 spouses). Baseline measures will be obtained just prior to randomization to the three study arms (T1), followed by repeated assessments at 2 months (T2), 6 months (T3) and 12 months (T4).

Public Health Relevance

This work has the potential to offer men and their partners facing the stressors of AS with specialized emotional, cognitive, and physiological self-regulatory skills to cope more effectively and possibly prolong adherence to medically-warranted AS protocols.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01CA193331-05
Application #
9889048
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZCA1)
Program Officer
Ferrer, Rebecca
Project Start
2015-12-01
Project End
2021-11-30
Budget Start
2019-12-01
Budget End
2020-11-30
Support Year
5
Fiscal Year
2020
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Northwestern University at Chicago
Department
Public Health & Prev Medicine
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
005436803
City
Chicago
State
IL
Country
United States
Zip Code
60611