Text -Based Depression Screening Among Cancer Survivors

NCT06894849 | Recruiting DMC

• 2 other identifiers: 00142039FD006/CC001335/FN09
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 60
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 2

Brief Summary

Depression is common among cancer survivors, but current screening methods are not always effective. To help improve depression screening for cancer survivors, this study will conduct a pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) with 60 participants. The goal is to evaluate whether a text message-based approach to depression screening is feasible, acceptable, and potentially more effective than the current standard of care.

Conditions

Cancer; Depression Secondary to Other Disease; Cancer Survivor

Keywords

Cancer Survivorship; Depression Screening; Text Message Screening; Mobile Health

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Study Feasibility

  \>/= 1 response to a text message

  2 weeks after randomization

Secondary Outcomes (4)

• Acceptability

  2 weeks

• Depression screening

  2 weeks

• PHQ-2 score

  2 weeks

• PHQ-9 score

  2 weeks

Study Arms (2)

Text-Based Depression Screening

EXPERIMENTAL

Behavioral: Text-based depression screening

Usual Care

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Behavioral: Usual care (UC)

Interventions

Text-based depression screening BEHAVIORAL

Starting 1 week prior to the scheduled clinic appointment, patients will receive a text message invitation from HCC to complete depression screening. Participants will be asked to click to continue to the screening PHQ-2. For text message screening cadence, reminder texts will be sent daily for 3 days. Those who screen positive (PHQ-2 \>/= 3) will complete the remainder of the items (i.e., PHQ-9).

Text-Based Depression Screening

Usual care (UC) BEHAVIORAL

Usual care (UC) will consist of in-person assessment of depression using a validated brief screening tool (e.g., PHQ-2) synchronous with a clinical encounter with the outpatient oncology team. Although the person completing the screening (e.g., nurse, medical assistant) and other workflow may vary slightly across settings, the 2-items are generally presented orally to the patient during routine intake for a clinical encounter and entered into the EHR. Patients who screen positive will be asked to complete the full PHQ-9.

Usual Care

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• age \> 18 years
• diagnosis of cancer
• upcoming appointment in an HCC or HCN oncology clinic within 14 days
• English proficiency
• ownership of a cellphone with SMS text capability.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Medical University of South Carolina: lead

Study Sites (2)

Medical University of South Carolina

Charleston, South Carolina, 29425, United States

ENROLLING BY INVITATION

Medical University of South Carolina

Charleston, South Carolina, 29425, United States

RECRUITING

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Neoplasms

Study Officials

• Evan Graboyes, MD, MPH, FACS

  Medical University of South Carolina

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Ruby H McGhee, B.A. Psychology

CONTACT

919-727-2339; mcgheeru@musc.edu

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: INVESTIGATOR
• Purpose: SUPPORTIVE CARE
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Professor-Faculty

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: February 6, 2025
• First Posted: March 25, 2025
• Study Start: January 5, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): June 30, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): June 30, 2026
• Last Updated: January 8, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-01

Locations

US (2)