Background: Patients with cervical cancer or High-Grade Squamous Intraepithelial Lesion (HSIL) often experience mental problems such as anxiety and depression. Online mindfulness-based interventions offer accessible mental health support. However, evidence for cervical cancer or HSIL patients remains scarce, and evaluations often rely solely on self-reported scales, with a lack of...
Cancer incidence among Hmong Americans has increased significantly since the early 2000s. Familiarity with and understanding of the disease is low due to limited exposure in countries of origin, lack of terminology, reliance on shamanic healing practices, and restricted access to screening. Health and healing within Hmong culture have been the domain of shamans, whose practices focus on...
Objectives: To examine whether a brief mindfulness training program was associated with changes in depressive symptoms among female patients with cancer, to explore potential psychological processes related to symptom change, and to examine differences in pre-to post-training changes according to baseline psychological risk profiles. Methods: This exploratory non-randomized controlled study...
Psycho-OncologyAugust 2026Anna Baumeister, Lea Schuurmans, Lisa Borgmann et al.
Cancer patients often suffer from neurocognitive impairments due to cancer treatment, the cancer itself, and/or coping with the illness, significantly impairing quality of life and everyday functioning. This study evaluates the effectiveness of an online MBSR course regarding neurocognitive functioning and well-being of cancer patients. A total of 170 cancer patients with cognitive impairments...
Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) has been shown to decrease stress and fear of cancer recurrence among breast cancer (BC) survivors. However, evidence is lacking in exemplifying MBSR as a method to improve positive, psychosocial outcomes, such as optimism and social support. Enhanced mindfulness has been shown to increase optimism and result in healthier coping strategies, however with...
Psychological distress, including depression, anxiety, and stress, is highly prevalent among adults with cancer. Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs), such as Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), are increasingly used to address these symptoms. However, no prior review has comprehensively stratified MBI effects across intervention types,...
Background: Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is a common and distressing symptom among patients with cancer. Although mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) are increasingly applied for CRF management, evidence regarding their efficacy remains inconsistent. Aims: This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the efficacy of MBIs in reducing CRF. Methods: PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science,...
Psycho-OncologyDecember 1, 2025Dalnim Cho, Sairah Ahmed, Stella Snyder et al.
Lymphomas are one of the primary cancers that affect adolescents and young adults (AYAs). We examined the feasibility of two group-based interventions-one meditation-based and one education-based-for AYAs with lymphoma. We also explored their potential benefits for reducing psychological distress and cancer-related symptom burden. Patients aged 18-39 years with lymphoma undergoing chemotherapy...
Psycho-OncologyNovember 1, 2025Marie-Estelle Gaignard, Dominica Martin, Jelena Stanic et al.
Mindfulness-Based Interventions (MBIs) are recognized as beneficial in oncology supportive care. While qualitative analyses of mindfulness program experiences exist, this is the first mixed methods study to examine patients' experiences after participating in the online Mindfulness-Based Cancer Recovery (e-MBCR) program. The SERENITY study was a pilot randomized controlled trial evaluating the...
Online mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (eMBCT) can reduce psychological distress in people with cancer, but adherence and scalability could be improved. Through co-creation, we developed two eMBCT formats: group-blended and individual-unguided. This trial compared the effects of the two eMBCT to care as usual (CAU) on psychological distress and other mental health outcomes in people with...
To conduct an economic evaluation of a group mindfulness program compared to an education support program for breast cancer survivors (BCS). The cost-utility analysis (cost per quality-adjusted life year [QALY]) was performed from a single-center randomized controlled trial in the United States. Data from 181 BCS were included in the analysis (91 from the mindfulness-based stress reduction for...
Various psychosocial interventions have been developed to reduce distress and improve quality of life (QoL) in patients with advanced cancer, many of which are traditional cognitive-behavioral interventions (CBIs) or mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs). The aims of this meta-analysis were to determine and compare the overall effects of traditional CBIs and MBIs on distress and QoL in this...
A brief, valid, and comprehensive measure of mindfulness is needed for cancer populations. This study examined the factor structure, internal consistency, construct validity, and measurement invariance of the 10-item Cognitive Affective Mindfulness Scale-Revised (CAMS-R) in patients with cancer. Patients with breast, gastrointestinal, lung, or prostate cancer (N = 404, 50% stage IV cancer, 51%...
Objective: Cancer patients are at an increased risk for affective problems, including feelings of anxiety and depression. Mindfulness has been linked to an array of benefits for affective functioning in various populations including cancer patients, but the mechanisms underlying this relationship are still poorly understood. Based on emotion-regulation and stress-coping models, this study...
Psycho-OncologyNovember 2022Kairen McCloy, Ciara Hughes, Lynn Dunwoody et al.
Cancer diagnosis and treatment can cause fatigue, stress and anxiety which can have a detrimental effect on patients, families and the wider community. Mindfulness-based interventions appear to have positive effects on managing these cancer-related symptoms. To investigate the efficacy of mindfulness on cancer related fatigue (CRF) and psychological well-being in female cancer patients. Five...
Psycho-OncologyNovember 2021Juliana Pedro, Sara Monteiro-Reis, Carina Carvalho-Maia et al.
A large number of studies have been conducted exploring the effects of mindfulness programs on health outcomes, such as psychological and biological outcomes. However, there is substantial heterogeneity among studies and, consequently, in the systematic reviews/meta-analyses. Since clinical practice is massively informed by evidence on review studies, our main objective was to summarize the...
Internet‐delivered interventions may alleviate distress in cancer survivors with limited access to psychological face‐to‐face treatment. In collaboration with a group of cancer survivors, we developed and tested the efficacy of a therapist‐assisted internet‐delivered mindfulness‐based cognitive therapy (iMBCT) program for anxiety and depression in cancer survivors.
Mindfulness‐based interventions (MBIs) are increasingly used within psycho‐oncology. Since the publication of the most recent comprehensive meta‐analysis on MBIs in cancer in 2012, the number of published trials has more than doubled. We therefore conducted a systematic review and meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs), testing the efficacy of MBIs on measures of psychological...
Psycho-OncologyApril 2018Joanne M Shaw, Natasha Sekelja, Diana Frasca et al.
While mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) have demonstrated efficacy in clinical populations, the potential therapeutic benefit of mindfulness in the context of cancer is less clear. The aim of this review was to critically appraise mindfulness intervention reporting and study methodology. Studies using randomized control trial design and/or...
The purpose of this pilot study was to test the feasibility of delivering the mobile mindfulness-based stress reduction for breast cancer (mMBSR(BC)) program using an iPad and to evaluate its impact on symptom improvement. A single group, pre-posttest design was implemented among female stages 0-III breast cancer survivors (BCS) who completed treatment. Data were collected at baseline and week...
Lung cancer patients report among the highest distress rates of all cancer patients. Partners report similar distress rates. The present study examined the effectiveness of additional mindfulness-based stress reduction (care as usual [CAU] + MBSR) versus solely CAU to reduce psychological distress in lung cancer patients and/or their partners. We performed a multicentre, parallel-group,...
To investigate the cost-effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) compared to a wait-list control group for pain in women treated for breast cancer. A total of 129 women were randomly allocated to MBCT or a wait-list control group. The primary outcome was the minimal clinically important difference (MCID) on pain intensity (≥2 point reduction on an 11-point Numeric Rating...
In a pilot randomized controlled trial, examine the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of an 8-week, mindfulness training program (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction) in a sample of men on active surveillance on important psychological outcomes including prostate cancer anxiety, uncertainty intolerance and posttraumatic growth. Men were randomized to either mindfulness (n = 24) or an...
Mindfulness-based cancer recovery (MBCR) and supportive expressive group therapy (SET) are two well-validated psychosocial interventions, but they have not been directly compared, and little is known about long-term outcomes. This comparative effectiveness study measured the effects of these two interventions immediately following the groups and for 1 year thereafter in distressed breast cancer...