Meaning-Centered Counseling for Chinese Patients Who Are Being Treated for Advanced Cancer
Adaptation of Individual Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy for Chinese Immigrant Cancer
1 other identifier
observational
84
1 country
9
Brief Summary
The purpose of the study is to modify a type of counseling called "Individual Meaning Centered Psychotherapy" to meet the needs of Chinese cancer patients. Many cancer patients use counseling or other resources to help cope with the emotional burden of their illnesses. Counseling often helps them cope with cancer by giving them a place to express their feelings. "Meaning-Centered" counseling aims to teach cancer patients how to maintain or even increase a sense of meaning and purpose in their lives, despite cancer.
Trial Health
Trial Health Score
Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach
participants targeted
Target at P50-P75 for all trials
Started Apr 2014
Longer than P75 for all trials
9 active sites
Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.
Trial Relationships
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Study Timeline
Key milestones and dates
Study Start
First participant enrolled
April 1, 2014
CompletedFirst Submitted
Initial submission to the registry
April 7, 2014
CompletedFirst Posted
Study publicly available on registry
April 11, 2014
CompletedPrimary Completion
Last participant's last visit for primary outcome
February 15, 2027
ExpectedStudy Completion
Last participant's last visit for all outcomes
February 15, 2027
January 14, 2026
January 1, 2026
12.9 years
April 7, 2014
January 12, 2026
Conditions
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcomes (1)
adapt the Individual Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy (IMCP)
through formative research, including in-depth interviews, to be culturally and linguistically tailored for Chinese immigrant cancer patients (IMCP-Ch), using the Ecological Validity Model (EVM) of Bernal et al. (3) and the Cultural Adaptation Process (CAP) model of Domenech-Rodriquez and Weiling (1). This addresses existential issues using didactics and experiential exercises and has demonstrated efficacy in reducing existential suffering and improving psychosocial functioning among advanced cancer patients.
2 years
Study Arms (1)
Chinese patients with advanced cancer
IMCP intervention to be culturally \& linguistically tailored for Chinese cancer patients. This study will be carried out in 3 phases: 1) formative research \& 2) adaptation. For this application we will continue the formative research (phase 1) by conducting 20 to 30 indepth interviews with Chinese immigrants with advanced cancer to inform the adaptation of the intervention. Results of the patient in-depth interviews will inform how to adapt the IMCP process \& session themes to reflect the needs of the community. In the adaptation phase (phase 2) the Breitbart IMCP research team (including Drs. Breitbart, Lichtenthal, \& Applebaum), Drs. Leng, Gany, \& Ms. Huang will discuss a priori adaptations to the intervention. Potential changes to the process \& content will be discussed. Adaptations will be incorporated in a modified IMCP-Ch treatment manual, therapist checklist/outline \& Treatment Integrity Coding Manual. PHASE 3, 4 Conduct feasibility study of IMCP-Ch for Chinese cancer patients.
Interventions
The six sessions will be delivered every or every other week over a span of 6-16 weeks, depending on participant and interventionist availability. Sessions may also be delivered within 2 weeks to accommodate schedules. Sessions will take place via MSK-approved videoconferencing platforms (e.g. Zoom) or by telephone, depending on participant preference. The IMCP-Ch intervention will be delivered via telehealth in Mandarin Chinese by a bilingual interventionist or in English (for bilingual Chinese and English-speaking patients who prefer English) by an English-speaking therapist or through English-to-Mandarin Remote Simultaneous Medical Interpretation (RSMI), depending on participants' preference. All Phase 4 sessions will be digitally audio-recorded and saved to Zoom cloud. Cloud recording will be deleted from Zoom after the files have been uploaded.
Eligibility Criteria
Phase I participants will be recruited through MSKCC and referrals provided by Qcc, CCHC, ACS Asian Initiatives, CBWCHC, NYHQ and NYCAAMH and the Cheung and Kan Medical Group. Phase 3 and 4 participants will be recruited through MSKCC and referrals provided by community clinicians/collaborating partners. Flyers (Phase 3, Appendix H) in Chinese announcing the study will be distributed through MSKCC and community organizations and hospitals (e.g., QCC, WCMC, NYP LMH, CCHC, ACS Asian Initiatives, CBWCHC, NYHQ, the Cheung and Kan Medical Group and NYCAAMH).
You may qualify if:
- Phases 1 and 2:
- Non-US born;
- Of Chinese descent;
- Age 21 years through 80 years;
- Language spoken: Mandarin and/or English
- Diagnosis of Stage IV cancer (any type).
- Phase 3:
- Stage III or IV cancer (per self-report or on the MSKCC EMR). If traditional staging does not apply (i.e. for leukemia), we can allow patient deemed by provider to have poor prognosis/roughly equivalent to Stage III or IV to be referred.
- Age 18 or older
- Of Chinese descent
- Mandarin-speaking
- Have an estimated life expectancy of at least 6 months (per self-report or on the MSKCC EMR)
- Resides in New York State or New Jersey
- Phase 4:
- Stage III or IV cancer (per self-report or on the MSKCC EMR). If traditional staging does not apply (i.e. for leukemia), we can allow patient deemed by provider to have poor prognosis/roughly equivalent to Stage III or IV to be referred.
- +5 more criteria
You may not qualify if:
- Phases 1 and 2:
- Presence of cognitive impairment disorder (e.g., delirium or dementia) sufficient to preclude meaningful informed consent and/or data collection. The Chinese version of the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) (46) will be used as a cognitive screening tool. Patients with MMSE scores below 20 will be excluded. For English speaking patients we will use the English version of the MMSE.
- Has a household member who has already participated (or agreed to participate).
- Phase 3:
- Previous participation in Phases 1 or 2 of the study
- Unable/unwilling to use or no access to a telehealth platform (i.e., telephone or videoconference)
- For participants who express interest in RSMI, unable/unwilling to use Zoom videoconferencing platform
- Unable or unwilling to commit to up to 16 weeks to complete 6-session intervention and follow-up assessments
- Major psychiatric illness or cognitive impairment that in the judgment of study investigators or study staff would preclude study participation
- Patients diagnosed with primary brain tumors (per self-report or on the MSKCC EMR), as they may have difficulty completing the intervention and answering questionnaires
- Undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) (per self-report or on the MSKCC EMR)
- Currently in psychotherapeutic treatment (patients being treated with psychotropic medications will not be excluded, as long as they are not in psychotherapy; per self report)
- Phase 4:
- Previous participation in Phases 1, 2, or 3 of the study
- Unable/unwilling to use or no access to the Zoom videoconferencing platform (required for RSMI)
- +5 more criteria
Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.
Sponsors & Collaborators
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centerlead
- Queens Cancer Center of Queens Hospitalcollaborator
- Charles B. Wang Community Health Center (CBWCHC)collaborator
- American Cancer Society - Asian Initiativescollaborator
- New York Coalition for Asian American Mental Health (NYCAAMH)collaborator
- New York Hospital Queenscollaborator
- Chinese Christian Herald Crusades (CCHC)collaborator
- Cheung and Kan Medical Group, PLLCcollaborator
- The City College of New Yorkcollaborator
- MediSys Health Networkcollaborator
Study Sites (9)
Memorial Sloan Kettering Basking Ridge (Limited Protocol Activities)
Basking Ridge, New Jersey, 07920, United States
Memorial Sloan Kettering Monmouth (Limited Protocol Activities)
Middletown, New Jersey, 07748, United States
Memorial Sloan Kettering Bergen (Limited Protocol Activities)
Montvale, New Jersey, 07645, United States
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Suffolk- Commack (Limited Protocol Activities)
Commack, New York, 11725, United States
Memorial Sloan Kettering Westchester (Limited Protocol Activities)
Harrison, New York, 10604, United States
City College of New York (Data Collection AND Data Analysis)
New York, New York, 10031, United States
MSK at Ralph Lauren (Limited Protocol Activities)
New York, New York, 10035, United States
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
New York, New York, 10065, United States
Memorial Sloan Kettering Nassau (Limited Protocol Activities)
Uniondale, New York, 11553, United States
Related Publications (1)
Lui F, Gany F, Espinosa A, Riobo C, Chang F, Narang B, Rodriguez A, Gonzalez J, Niu Y, Chen RY, Jiang R, Leng J. INTERPRETing to increase access to PSYcho-oncology care (INTERPRET-PSY) for cancer patients with limited English proficiency: study protocol for a pilot randomized controlled trial. Pilot Feasibility Stud. 2026 Jan 29;12(1):31. doi: 10.1186/s40814-026-01770-5.
PMID: 41612461DERIVED
Related Links
MeSH Terms
Interventions
Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)
Study Officials
- PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Florence Lui, PhD
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Study Design
- Study Type
- observational
- Observational Model
- COHORT
- Time Perspective
- PROSPECTIVE
- Sponsor Type
- OTHER
- Responsible Party
- SPONSOR
Study Record Dates
First Submitted
April 7, 2014
First Posted
April 11, 2014
Study Start
April 1, 2014
Primary Completion (Estimated)
February 15, 2027
Study Completion (Estimated)
February 15, 2027
Last Updated
January 14, 2026
Record last verified: 2026-01