Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35948952›Full record

ArticlePilot and feasibility studies2022

Study protocol for the evaluation of Fear-Less: a stepped-care program for fear of cancer recurrence in survivors with early-stage disease.

Mei Jun Tran, Michael Jefford, Ben Smith, Fiona Lynch, Haryana M Dhillon, Joanne Shaw, Lachlan McDowell, Alan White, Clare Halloran, David Wiesenfeld and 1 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Pilot and feasibility studies, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
0.6field-weighted citation impact, top 30% 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

3 citing papers in PubMed, 6 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
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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 5 institutions in 1 country.

Mei Jun TranPsychosocial Oncology Program, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. mei.tran@petermac.org.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9163-5831
Michael JeffordAustralian Cancer Survivorship Centre, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Ben SmithIngham Institute for Applied Medical Research and South West Sydney Clinical Campuses, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Fiona LynchPsychosocial Oncology Program, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Haryana M DhillonFaculty of Science, School of Psychology, Psycho-Oncology Cooperative Research Group, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia.
Joanne ShawFaculty of Science, School of Psychology, Psycho-Oncology Cooperative Research Group, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia.
Lachlan McDowellDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Alan WhiteConsumer Representative, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Clare HalloranConsumer Representative, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
David WiesenfeldDirector Head and Neck Tumour Stream, Melbourne Health and Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Maria FtanouPsychosocial Oncology Program, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre · AUThe University of Melbourne · AUThe University of Sydney · AUBarwon Health · AUUNSW Sydney · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundFear of cancer recurrence (FCR) is a significant unmet need amongst cancer survivors and is consistently associated with psychological distress and impaired quality of life. Psychological interventions for FCR, such as ConquerFear, have demonstrated efficacy in reducing FCR and improving emotional wellbeing. Unfortunately, there are barriers to the uptake of evidence-based FCR treatments in clinical practice. A stepped-care FCR treatment model may overcome these barriers and has demonstrated potential in people with advanced melanoma. This study aims to evaluate the acceptability, feasibility, and impact of a stepped-care FCR treatment model (Fear-Less) in people with other cancer types, who have completed treatment with curative intent.

methodsSixty people with early-stage cancer (defined as individuals who have received treatment with curative intent and with no metastatic disease) will be screened for FCR using the Fear of Cancer Recurrence Inventory-Short Form (FCRI-SF). Individuals reporting moderate FCR (FCRI-SF between 13 and 21) will be offered a clinician-guided self-management resource; those reporting high FCR (FCRI-SF ≥ 22) will be offered individual therapy according to the ConquerFear protocol. Participants will complete purpose-built evaluation surveys assessing their FCR screening and intervention experiences. Clinicians will also complete a survey regarding their experiences of the treatment model. Fear-Less will be evaluated in terms of (1) acceptability (i.e., patient and clinician experience), (2) feasibility (i.e., referral uptake, treatment adherence, and time taken to screen and deliver interventions), and (3) impact (i.e., pre- to post-intervention FCR changes). DISCUSSION: The Fear-Less stepped-care model is a novel framework for screening FCR and stratifying survivors to the appropriate level of treatment. Our study will provide an indication of whether Fear-Less is a feasible and acceptable FCR model of care amongst survivors with early-stage disease and inform further investigations of this model.

trial registrationAustralian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR); ACTRN12622000818730 .

Indexed as

Cancer survivorshipFear of cancer recurrencePsychologyStepped-care

Identifiers

PMID35948952
PMCPMC9364569
OpenAlexW4291020232

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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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.