Internet-delivered Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for anxiety and depression in cancer survivors: Predictors of treatment response

Abstract

Background The present study investigates possible predictors of treatment response in an Internet-delivered Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (iMBCT) intervention with therapist support. This iMBCT program, a fully online delivered intervention with asynchronous therapist support, has previously been shown to be efficacious in reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression in women treated for breast cancer and men treated for prostate cancer. Methods Eighty-two breast- and prostate cancer survivors experiencing psychological distress received 8 weeks of therapist-guided iMBCT. Primary outcomes were improvement in anxiety and depression scores from baseline to post-treatment and from baseline to six-months follow-up. Clinical predictors included levels of depression and anxiety at the time of screening and at baseline, as well as time since diagnosis. Demographic predictors included age and educational level. Therapy-related predictors included working alliance, self-compassion, and five facets of mindfulness. Mixed Linear Models were employed to test the prediction effects over time. Results Higher levels of baseline depression were associated with increased treatment response in anxiety at post-treatment, and lower levels of self-compassion were associated with increased treatment response in depression at post-treatment. None of the proposed predictors significantly predicted treatment response at six-months follow-up. Conclusion The findings suggest that iMBCT can be provided for cancer survivors regardless of their age, educational level, and time since diagnosis (up to five years) and that therapeutic alliance is not crucial for treatment response. We did not identify characteristics predicting treatment response, although many factors were tested. Still, other characteristics may be predictors, and given the relatively small sample size and a large number of statistical tests, the results should be interpreted with caution.

The Psychological Effect of Internet-Based Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction on the Survivors of Breast Cancer During the COVID-19

“…Recent findings of a meta-analysis support the short-term effectiveness and safety of two prominent mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs), namely mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and mindfulnessbased cognitive therapy (MBCT), for women diagnosed with breast cancer as adjuvant treatment, such that they improved patients' well-being and health related quality of life (HQoL), and reduced symptoms of fatigue, insomnia, anxiety, depression, and stress (10)(11)(12)(13). Recently an Internet-delivered Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (iMBCT) intervention was proved to be efficacious in reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression for BC or prostate cancer survivors (14), suggesting that the internet-based MBIs could be administered to cancer survivors. However, supported evidence primarily comes from Western countries and there has been a lack of research on the utility and efficacy of MBIs in the global context for cancer survivors, such as in China.…”

The modulatory role of internet-supported mindfulness-based cognitive therapy on extracellular vesicles and psychological distress in people who have had cancer: a protocol for a two-armed randomized controlled study

“…It is noteworthy that breast, prostate, and colorectal cancer diseases were selected, as they are the most common cancers in Portugal, with both sexes included [ 78 ]. Completion of primary treatments was also considered to minimize the impact of cancer treatment on biological markers, also considering that psychological distress may still be present in people who have had cancer, regardless of survival stage (at least up to 5 years) [ 79 ].…”

Immediate Impact of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy on Women with Breast Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta‐analysis

“…The main form of instruction was group coaching (11 trials) [31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41]. Participants in 2 studies attended personalized MBCT sessions led by an experienced therapist [42,43].…”

“…Patients were followed-up for 2 to 6 months after the intervention. In recent years, researchers have used Internet-delivered MBCT interventions [42,43] to replace face-to-face group meetings. In one study, an Internet-delivered MBCT program provided an optional 1-week break, which gave participants 9 weeks to complete 8 therapist-guided sessions [43].…”