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A Collaborative Intervention for Improving Cancer Pain Management in Cancer Survivors (ASCENT)

Advancing Safe, Comprehensive, Digitally-Enabled Cancer Pain Management (ASCENT) Clinical Trial - Main

Status
Recruiting
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT06198010
Acronym
ASCENT
Enrollment
660
Registered
2024-01-10
Start date
2024-02-07
Completion date
2027-08-31
Last updated
2025-12-01

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Hematopoietic and Lymphoid System Neoplasm, Malignant Solid Neoplasm, Hematopoietic and Lymphatic System Neoplasm

Brief summary

This clinical trial tests a collaborative pain management intervention (ASCENT) for improving cancer pain in cancer survivors. Cancer pain is prevalent, under-treated, and remains a major cause of suffering, impairment, and disability for millions of Americans. Individual pain interventions and care models show promise for cancer pain in controlled settings. All cancer survivors stand to benefit from electronic health record innovations, as they can experience profound pain outcomes, including marked under- and over-prescribing of opioids. Digitally facilitated solutions are especially helpful and can be customized to address patient needs. The ASCENT intervention provides patients with an educational guide that describes techniques for addressing cancer pain, and uses community health workers and pain care managers to coach patients through a personalized pain management plan. This study may help researchers learn how pain management strategies can improve cancer pain and lower risk of opioid exposure and dependency in cancer survivors.

Detailed description

NOTE: Although Mayo Clinic in Arizona, Mayo Clinic in Florida, and Mayo Clinic in Rochester are the main study locations, this study is also recruiting (enrolling remotely) at the following Mayo Clinic Health System locations. The study is virtual/remote, so no travel is required. Mayo Clinic Health Systems-Mankato Mankato, MN 56001, US Mayo Clinic Health System in Albert Lea Albert Lea, MN 56007, US Mayo Clinic Health System in Austin Austin, MN 55912, US Mayo Clinic Health System-Eau Claire Clinic Eau Claire, WI 54701, US Mayo Clinic Health System-Franciscan Healthcare La Crosse, WI 54601, US PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: I. To test a validated collaborative care model-based intervention aimed at improving pain control among cancer survivors by promoting multimodal pain care (MMPC) to reduce inappropriate opioid use and by addressing social determinants of health (SDOH) that impede a patient's access to appropriate care. OUTLINE: Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 arms. ARM I: Patients receive enhanced usual care, which includes access to the educational and pain self-management materials developed for the ASCENT trial (the ASCENT guide). ARM II: Patients receive the ASCENT guide and attend 3 video or phone calls over 30 minutes each with their community health worker (CHW) and/or pain care manager (PCM). During the first call, patients discuss barriers to receiving help for their pain with their CHW. During the second call, patients work with their PCM to develop an action plan for addressing their pain using the different techniques and interventions detailed in the ASCENT guide. During the third and final call, patients meet with both their CHW and PCM to discuss specialist recommendations for their pain management plan. After the final visit, patients will be contacted by the CHW or PCM every other week to monitor their progress and may also be contacted as-needed based on the their reported pain intensity, symptoms, or reported barriers.

Interventions

OTHERBest Practice

Receive enhanced usual care

OTHEREducational Intervention

Receive ASCENT guide

OTHERQuestionnaire Administration

Ancillary studies

OTHERElectronic Health Record Review

Ancillary studies

Attend video or phone calls with a CHW and/or PCM

Receive personalized pain management plan

Sponsors

National Cancer Institute (NCI)
CollaboratorNIH
Mayo Clinic
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)

Masking description

Patient Reported Outcome Measures will be administered at baseline by a study coordinator and at 3 and 6 months by a blinded, bilingual, assessor.

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* A qualifying liquid or solid cancer diagnosis with visits at a participating Mayo site in the past 15 years * Including malignant hematology * Lymphoma * Myeloma * Chronic leukemias * Age \>= 18 * Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) pain score of \>= 5/10 * Pain that developed or worsened following cancer diagnosis * Fit the description of either rural or Hispanic or both

Exclusion criteria

* Patient Health Questionnaire - 8 (PHQ8) score of \>= 13 * Hospice enrollment * Skilled nursing facility, inpatient rehabilitation facility, or long-term care placement * Encounters with Palliative Care or the Pain Clinic in the past two months or upcoming two months * Any mention of hospice referral in medical oncology encounter notes (assess through textual search of the Mayo Data Explorer) * Affirmative response to, Are you usually confined to a bed or chair more than a third of your waking hours because of your health? * Currently homeless * Do not feel safe in their home * New or worsening chest pain, chest tightness, or chest pressure * Back pain that is associated with a new or worsening weakness, control of bowels/bladder, or difficulty walking * Lightheadedness, inability to keep down food or fluids, or vomiting blood or dark coffee-grounds-like material * New or worsening headaches that are associated with vision changes, nausea, balance issues, or problems with speech * Screens positive for use of non-cannabis drug use a a frequency of monthly or greater * Inability to engage with the intervention due to medical or psychological response

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Change in Pain ScoreBaseline, 3 months, 6 monthsWill be measured using the Brief Pain Inventory Short Form (BPI SF), a 4-item questionnaire answered on a scale from 0 (no pain) to 10 (pain as bad as you can imagine). A higher score indicates worse pain.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Perceived Quality of LifeBaseline, 3 months, 6 monthsWill be measured using the European Quality of Life 5 Dimensions 3 Level (EQ-5D-3L) questionnaire, which measures quality of life on a 5-component scale including mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression. Each component has three response levels of severity: no problems, some problems, extreme problems.
DepressionBaseline, 3 months, 6 monthsWill be measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2), a two-item questionnaire answered with responses from 0 (not al all) to 3 (nearly every day). A higher score indicates a higher level of depression.
AnxietyBaseline, 3 months, 6 monthsWill be measured using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-2 (GAD-2) scale, a two-item questionnaire answered with a score of 0 (not at all) to 3 (nearly every day). A higher score indicates higher frequency of being bothered by anxiety.
SleepBaseline, 3 months, 6 monthsWill be measured using the PROMIS Sleep Disturbance 6a, a 6-item questionnaire assessing sleep disturbance over the past 7 days. Each question is answered with a score of 1-5, with a higher score indicating greater sleep disturbance.
Employment statusBaseline, 3 months, 6 monthsEmployment status will be self-reported
Physical functionBaseline, 3 months, 6 monthsWill be measured using the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Physical Functioning Short Form (SF) 6b, a 6-item questionnaire that measures the effects of pain on physical functioning over the past 7 days. Questions are answered on a scale of 1-5, with higher scores indicating more pain interference.
Use of study electronic-toolsBaseline, 3 months, 6 monthsWill be measured in minutes/week that participants access available electronic tools.
Social isolationBaseline, 3 months, 6 monthsWill be measured using the PROMIS SF 4a, a six-item questionnaire with each question answered on a five-point scale from 1 (never) to 5 (very often). Higher scores indicate greater perceived social isolation.
Opioid consumptionUp to 6 monthsWill be measured in oral morphine equivalents and collected using electronic health record (EHR) prescriptions.
Health care utilizationUp to 6 monthsWill be measured by reviewing the electronic health record (EHR) and administrative billing data for incidents of hospitalization and emergency department visits
Adherence to behavioral multimodal pain care plan componentsBaseline, 3 months, 6 monthsWill be measured using logged count data.

Countries

United States

Contacts

Primary ContactClinical Trials Referral Office
mayocliniccancerstudies@mayo.edu507-293-1043
Backup ContactJosiah Lulf
Lulf.Josiah@mayo.edu507-538-7991

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026