Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29757459›Full record

Trial reportCancer2018

Individual meaning-centered psychotherapy for the treatment of psychological and existential distress: A randomized controlled trial in patients with advanced cancer.

William Breitbart, Hayley Pessin, Barry Rosenfeld, Allison J Applebaum, Wendy G Lichtenthal, Yuelin Li, Rebecca M Saracino, Allison M Marziliano, Melissa Masterson, Kristen Tobias and 1 more

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Cancer, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 158 papers, 13 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
158citing papers in PubMed, 13 pooled it
27.3field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

158 citing papers in PubMed, 13 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 386 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Guideline
  2. Pooled it
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  5. A systematic review on the effects of logotherapy and meaning-centered therapy on psychological and existential symptoms in women with breast and gynecological cancer.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025
    Pooled it
  6. Pooled it
  7. Pooled it
  8. Effects of meaning-based psychotherapy on post-traumatic growth and death anxiety in patients with cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2024
    Pooled it
  9. Guideline
  10. Pooled it
  11. Pooled it
  12. Distress Management, Version 3.2019, NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology.Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network : JNCCN · 2019
    Guideline
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  14. Trial
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98 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

William BreitbartDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York.
Hayley PessinDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York.
Barry RosenfeldDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York.ORCID 0000-0003-1399-2777
Allison J ApplebaumDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York.
Wendy G LichtenthalDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York.
Yuelin LiDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York.
Rebecca M SaracinoDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York.
Allison M MarzilianoDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York.
Melissa MastersonDepartment of Psychology, Fordham University, Bronx, New York.
Kristen TobiasDepartment of Psychology, Fordham University, Bronx, New York.
Natalie FennDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York.
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center · USFordham University · US

Funding

X-RAY CRYSTALLOGRAPHYP30CA008748 · NCI · SLOAN-KETTERING INSTITUTE FOR CANCER RES · PI Elisa de Stanchina · 1985 to 2026
$347.4M
Psychosocial Palliative & Community Research in CancerT32CA009461 · NCI · SLOAN-KETTERING INSTITUTE FOR CANCER RES · PI JENNIFER L HAY, Jamie S. Ostroff · 1985 to 2026
$10.1M
Individual Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy in Advanced Cancer PatientsR01CA128134 · NCI · SLOAN-KETTERING INST CAN RESEARCH · PI BREITBART, WILLIAM · 2010 to 2015
$3.9M
Meaning-Centered Grief Therapy for Parents Bereaved by CancerK07CA172216 · NCI · SLOAN-KETTERING INST CAN RESEARCH · PI LICHTENTHAL, WENDY G. · 2013 to 2017
$707k
Identifying and Measuring Depression in Older Cancer PatientsR21CA164350 · NCI · SLOAN-KETTERING INST CAN RESEARCH · PI NELSON, CHRISTIAN J · 2012 to 2013
$404k
NCI NIH HHS K07 CA172216NCI NIH HHS P30 CA008748NCI NIH HHS R01 CA128134NCI NIH HHS R21 CA164350NCI NIH HHS T32 CA009461
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPatients with advanced cancer have high rates of psychological distress, including depression, anxiety, and spiritual despair. This study examined the effectiveness of individual meaning-centered psychotherapy (IMCP) in comparison with supportive psychotherapy (SP) and enhanced usual care (EUC) in improving spiritual well-being and quality of life and reducing psychological distress in patients with advanced cancer.

methodsPatients (n = 321) were randomly assigned to IMCP (n = 109), SP (n = 108), or EUC (n = 104). Assessments were conducted at 4 time points: before intervention, midtreatment (4 weeks), 8 weeks after treatment, and 16 weeks after treatment.

resultsSignificant treatment effects (small to medium in magnitude) were observed for IMCP, in comparison with EUC, for 5 of 7 outcome variables (quality of life, sense of meaning, spiritual well-being, anxiety, and desire for hastened death), with Cohen's d ranging from 0.1 to 0.34; no significant improvement was observed for patients receiving SP (d < 0.15 and P > .05 for all variables). The effect of IMCP was significantly greater than the effect of SP for quality of life and sense of meaning (d = 0.19) but not for the remaining study variables.

conclusionsThis study provides further support for the efficacy of IMCP as a treatment for psychological and existential/spiritual distress in patients with advanced cancer. Significant treatment effects (small to moderate effect sizes) were observed in comparison with usual care, and somewhat more modest differences in improvement (small effect sizes) were observed in comparison with SP. Thus, the benefits of meaning-centered psychotherapy appear to be unique to the intervention and highlight the importance of addressing existential issues with patients approaching the end of life. Cancer 2018. © 2018 American Cancer Society.

Indexed as

ExistentialismPerson-Centered PsychotherapyAdultAgedAged, 80 and overDepressionEmotionsFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedNeoplasmsPalliative CareQuality of LifeSpiritualitydepressiondistressmeaning-centered psychotherapypsychotherapyspiritual well-being

Identifiers

PMID29757459
PMCPMC6097940
OpenAlexW2803238382

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.