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Evaluation of the Added Value of Logotherapy in the Psychological Support of Patients With Primary Breast Cancer

Randomized, Comparative Study to Evaluate the Added Value of Logotherapy in the Psychological Support of Patients With Primary Breast Cancer

Status
Not yet recruiting
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT07267572
Acronym
AELO
Enrollment
66
Registered
2025-12-05
Start date
2026-02-01
Completion date
2028-11-01
Last updated
2025-12-05

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

Conditions

Breast Cancer

Keywords

logotherapy, support, breast cancer

Brief summary

The diagnosis of breast cancer in a woman can cause major psychological trauma with many destructive effects in all areas of life. Dealing with this profound distress is often difficult, sometimes poorly defined between different professionals (psychiatrists, psychologists, psychotherapists, proponents of alternative therapies), leading to highly variable and difficult-to-measure results. Since the first French cancer plan (2003/2007), facilities offering cancer care have been legally required to have a notification and support system in place. This consists of offering patients a range of supportive care throughout their cancer treatment (psychotherapy, physical activities, dietetics, pain management, etc.). In recent years, logotherapy has been offered as part of psychological care. Logotherapy is a form of psychotherapy based on meaning, which has been offered for many years and aims to help patients create or discover meaning in their lives. Meaning serves as motivation to continue living despite illness by placing this ordeal in the context of existence. Suffering can thus be transformed into opportunity. The use of logotherapy gives the suffering person the ability to take an active part in their treatment and helps them to mobilize their personal resources to keep the disease at bay, stabilize it, or cure it. Several studies conducted on women with breast or gynecological cancer have shown that logotherapy can reduce the symptoms of traumatic stress and increase their ability to find meaning in their lives. However, these studies have certain limitations because they are not randomized. In order to evaluate the short- and medium-term benefits of logotherapy in patients diagnosed with primary breast cancer, we propose a prospective, comparative, randomized study.

Interventions

OTHERSupport to the patient including logotherapy

Logotherapy consists of four individual sessions conducted by a nurse who is specialized and certified in logotherapy, at a rate of one session every two weeks, lasting approximately 60 minutes.

OTHERSupport to the patient without logotherapy

Supportive care offered as part of the patient notification process following the diagnosis of breast cancer.

Sponsors

Elsan
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

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

Inclusion criteria

Female patient: * With a first diagnosis of histologically proven breast cancer, * Affiliated to a health insurance scheme, * Having been informed and having given her free and informed consent prior to any procedure specific to the study.

Exclusion criteria

Female patient: * Unable to understand the study and to answer to the questionnaires * With an indication for neoadjuvant chemotherapy * Undergoing antidepressant treatment at the time of diagnosis * Presenting with alcohol or drug addiction at the time of diagnosis * Protected: adult under guardianship, curatorship, or other legal protection, deprived of liberty by judicial or administrative decision. * Pregnant, breastfeeding, or in labor.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Anxiety10 weeksAnxiety score of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) score. The HADS is a validated self-administered questionnaire consisting of 14 items allowing patients to assess their mood over the past week. It is composed of two parts (anxiety and depression) The result ranges from 0 to 21.
Depression10 weeksDepression score of the HADS. This score will be analysed on a second step (two-step hierarchical sequential analysis) only if a significative difference is observable on the first step (anxiety).

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Perceived stressBaseline, 10 weeks, 6 months and 9 monthsPerceived Stress Scale (PSS) score. It is a validated self-administered questionnaire, comprising 10 questions assessing a patient's individual stress level. The result is expressed in a score between 0 (no perceived stress) and 40 (high perceived stress)
Anxiety and depressionBaseline, 10 weeks, 6 months and 9 monthsHADS score (anxiety and depression).
Quality of life assessmentBaseline, 10 weeks, 6 months and 9 monthsEORTC QJQ-C30. It is a general self-administered questionnaire comprising 30 questions to assess the quality of life of cancer patients participating in clinical trials. The result is expressed in a score between 0 and 100.
Consultations of psychotherapistsOver 9 monthsNumber of consultations with a specialist in psychotherapy in relation to breast cancer management.
Anxyolitic treatments consumption10 weeks, 6 months and 9 monthsNumber of anxyolitic treatments (type, dose and indication)
Anti-depressant treatments consumption10 weeks, 6 months and 9 monthsNumber of anti-depressant treatments (type, dose and indication)

Countries

France

Contacts

Primary ContactEmmanuelle MALHOMME
Emmanuelle.MALHOMME@elsan.care+33 5 49 42 29 29
Backup ContactCharlène PY
charlene.py@elsan.care+33 5 56 00 30 48

Outcome results

None listed

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