Patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) experience emotional distress and limited supportive care access. This study assesses a mindfulness app's feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy in improving emotional symptoms, trait mindfulness, and overall quality of life for patients with mRCC on immunotherapy.
This multinational study recruited patients with mRCC undergoing immunotherapy from Brazil and the United States. Participants were required to engage in mindfulness app-based activities for 20-30 min daily, at least 4 days per week, over a 4-week period. Assessments were conducted at weeks 0, 2, 4, and 12 to evaluate emotional symptoms (PROMIS-Anxiety and Depression, Fear of Cancer Recurrence-7), fatigue (Brief Fatigue Inventory), trait mindfulness (Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale), and quality of life (Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-General). Self-reported data were used to assess adherence. Linear mixed-effects models were used to evaluate changes over time for the measured outcomes.
Among 50 patients with mRCC, the feasibility of this intervention was demonstrated; 96% of patients were assessed at week 4, with high adherence rates reported by 75% of patients. Participants expressed positive feedback on the smartphone-based approach. Significant improvements were observed in emotional symptoms, fatigue, and quality of life scores from baseline to post-intervention (P = .001 for each), suggesting the positive impact of this intervention.
Our findings provide encouraging evidence for the feasibility and acceptability of a mindfulness app-based intervention among patients with mRCC. This intervention may offer a viable and accessible means of providing psychosocial support to patients with mRCC.
The oncologist. 2025 Jan 17 [Epub]
Cristiane Decat Bergerot, Paulo Gustavo Bergerot, Errol J Philip, Jasnoor Malhotra, Daniela V Castro, Ameish Govindarajan, William Hiromi Fuzita, Marcos Vinicius da Silva França, Andressa Cardoso de Azeredo, Gabriel Marques Dos Anjos, Romildo de Araujo, JoAnn Hsu, Neal Chawla, Alex Chehrazi-Raffle, Marco Murilo Buso, Bechara Saab, Linda E Carlson, Sumanta K Pal
Oncoclinicas&Co-Medica Scientia Innovation Research (MEDSIR), Sao Paulo, SP 04543-906, Brazil., University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States., Department of Medical Oncology & Experimental Therapeutics, City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, Duarte, CA 91010, United States., Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065, United States., Mobio Interactive Pte. Ltd., Gateway West 189720, Singapore., Department of Oncology, University of Calgary Cumming School of Medicine, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4N1, Canada.