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Mindfulness Intervention to Reduce Patient Reported Symptoms in Patients With Chronic Graft-Versus-Host Disease

Pilot Feasibility Study of Mindfulness-Based Intervention in Patients With Chronic Graft-Versus-Host Disease

Status
Not yet recruiting
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT07733141
Enrollment
17
Registered
2026-07-29
Start date
2027-03-01
Completion date
2029-03-01
Last updated
2026-07-29

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

Conditions

Chronic Graft Versus Host Disease, Hematopoietic and Lymphatic System Neoplasm, Malignant Solid Neoplasm

Brief summary

This clinical trial tests a mindfulness intervention, consisting of group sessions and an individual session, using mindfulness based stress reduction techniques, to reduce patient reported symptoms for patients with chronic graft versus host disease (cGVHD). In patients undergoing allogeneic stem cell transplant, sometimes the transplanted cells from a donor can attack the body's normal cells (called graft-versus-host disease). In cGVHD patients may encounter stiffness, itching, joint and muscle pain, oral cavity pain, itchy eyes, shortness of breath, depression, anxiety, and poor sleep resulting in a significant impact on patients' quality of life. Mindfulness interventions use meditation practices with elements of psychology to improve emotional regulation, resilience and acceptance based coping. This mindfulness based intervention may reduce patient reported symptoms in patients with cGVHD.

Detailed description

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: I. Assess the feasibility of an 8-week mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) program consisting of weekly group sessions and a practitioner/patient 1:1 session in patients with a diagnosis of chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD). SECONDARY OBJECTIVES: I. Determine the number of patients who withdraw consent before starting group sessions or do not attend any of the planned group sessions. II. Assess the feasibility of daily self-meditation in patients with a diagnosis of cGVHD. III. Estimate the preliminary efficacy of the MBI program in patients with cGVHD. EXPLORATORY OBJECTIVE: I. Examine potential associations between the MBI program and the following at baseline, Week 4, and at completion of the MBI program. OUTLINE: Patients complete group sessions once weekly (QW), on weeks 1-4, over 40 minutes, and on weeks 6-8, over 60 minutes, and an individual session, over 60 minutes, on week 5. Sessions consist of instruction on diaphragmatic breathing, body scan, visualization, and individual mediation practice. Patients are recommended to complete self mediation daily for at least 15 minutes, for 8 weeks. Patients undergo blood sample collection throughout the study.

Interventions

PROCEDUREBiospecimen Collection

Undergo blood sample collection

Complete group mindfulness sessions

OTHERSurvey Administration

Ancillary studies

Sponsors

City of Hope Medical Center
Lead SponsorOTHER
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
CollaboratorNIH

Study design

Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

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

Inclusion criteria

* Documented informed consent of the participant and/or legally authorized representative * Willingness to participate in the study * Willingness to attend in-person or virtual group sessions * Ability to read and understand English (required for protocol therapy and planned survey) * Age: ≥ 18 years * Confirmed diagnosis of moderate/severe chronic graft-versus-host disease by National Institute of Health (NIH) criteria * Karnofsky performance status ≥ 80

Exclusion criteria

* Previous participation in four or more sessions of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT)/ mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) * An increase in anti-cGvHD medication (increased dosage or addition of a new medication) within 4 weeks prior to baseline evaluation * Severe psychiatric comorbidities (active psychosis, suicidal ideation) as determined by primary investigator (PI) * Concurrent malignancy, autoimmune disease, chronic infections, or other chronic inflammatory illness that might confound the results as determined by the PI * Prospective participants who, in the opinion of the investigator, may not be able to comply with all study procedures (including compliance issues related to feasibility/logistics)

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Compliance (feasibility)Up to 8 weeksFeasibility is defined as 12 or more of 15 evaluable participants meet compliance criteria. Compliance for each participant will be a binary endpoint (yes versus no). If a participant completes 5/7 group sessions, the practitioner/patient 1:1 session, and end of treatment assessments, compliance is defined as yes. Will be summarized using the percentage and 90% confidence intervals.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Reason for not starting study activities after signing consentUp to 8 weeksFor participants who withdraw consent before starting group sessions or do not attend any of the planned group sessions, the reason for not starting study activities after signing consent will be recorded for each patient
Feasibility of daily meditation in patients with a diagnosis of cGVHDUp to 8 weeksFeasibility of daily meditation will be assessed weekly and will be defined as 4/7 days per week in which the participant logged at least 15 minutes of individual meditation
Decrease of > 5 points on the 7-day Modified Lee Chronic Graft Versus Host Disease Symptom Scale (MLSSFrom baseline to completion of mindfulness based intervention (MBI) program, up to 8 weeksParticipants will self-report the level of distress they experienced in the previous week for each of the 28-items on a scale of 0 to 4, with 0 representing "not at all", 1 "slightly", 2 "moderately", 3 "quite a bit", and 4 "extremely". Items will be added to create a total score, which can range from 0 to 100, with a higher score indicating a higher overall symptom burden
Decrease in cGVHD severity stage per 2014 NIH consensus cGVHD grading criteriaFrom baseline to completion of MBI program, up to 8 weeksDecrease of one full organ stage (e.g., Stage 1 to Stage 2), or a clear functional change like a 2-point P-ROM score shift per 2014 NIH consensus cGVHD grading criteria

Countries

United States

Contacts

PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORAmandeep Salhotra

City of Hope Medical Center

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Jul 30, 2026