Grant Number:	5R21CA109168-02 Interpret this number
Primary Investigator:	Lengacher, Cecile
Organization:	University Of South Florida
Project Title:	Effects of Mbsr in Early Stage Breast Cancer Recovery
Fiscal Year:	2007

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in the U.S. - about 1 in 8 women will develop the disease in their lifetime. Although tremendous strides have been made in its treatment, more than 40,000 deaths will be attributed to the disease in 2005 alone. These sobering and well-recognized risks are a major source of distress among women free from the disease, and among those who have completed treatment for new onset disease. Regarding the latter, clinical interventions are virtually absent during the highly stressful transitional period in coming off treatment to becoming a breast cancer survivor, and no studies have tested interventions to reduce distress, particularly fear of recurrence, and improve quality of life during this time. Therefore, we propose to conduct a two-armed randomized wait-list controlled study on use of a mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) intervention among 100 female breast cancer patients (stages 0-3) who have recently completed treatment with surgery, radiation and/or chemotherapy. Specifically, we will investigate: (i) whether MBSR favorably influences psychological status, quality of life, stress hormones, and immune status; and (ii) possible mechanisms by which MBSR may work, in particular, through a reduction in fear of breast cancer recurrence. Both objectives will be studied at the critical transition time following completion of surgical and adjuvant therapies (6 weeks to 6 months thereafter) for breast cancer. The MBSR intervention will include 8 weeks of class sessions according to the curriculum established by Kabat Zinn and Santorelli. Analysis of covariance models will be used to assess whether change in the above-defined outcomes varies by random assignment (MBSR or wait-list), per the intention-to-treat principle. Moreover, change (reduction) in fear of recurrence attributed to MBSR will be investigated as a mediator. If this R21 exploratory study shows that MBSR improves patient proximal outcomes following completion of breast cancer treatment, the science will be mature enough for future large-scale evaluation of MBSR as a potential therapy to reduce long-term morbidity and mortality in breast cancer patient populations.




Baseline immune biomarkers as predictors of MBSR(BC) treatment success in off-treatment breast cancer patients.
Authors: Reich R.R. , Lengacher C.A. , Kip K.E. , Shivers S.C. , Schell M.J. , Shelton M.M. , Widen R.H. , Newton C. , Barta M.K. , Paterson C.L. , et al. .
Source: Biological Research For Nursing, 2014 Oct; 16(4), p. 429-37.
PMID: 24477514
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Mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR(BC)) in breast cancer: evaluating fear of recurrence (FOR) as a mediator of psychological and physical symptoms in a randomized control trial (RCT).
Authors: Lengacher C.A. , Shelton M.M. , Reich R.R. , Barta M.K. , Johnson-Mallard V. , Moscoso M.S. , Paterson C. , Ramesar S. , Budhrani P. , Carranza I. , et al. .
Source: Journal Of Behavioral Medicine, 2014 Apr; 37(2), p. 185-95.
PMID: 23184061
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Lymphocyte recovery after breast cancer treatment and mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) therapy.
Authors: Lengacher C.A. , Kip K.E. , Post-White J. , Fitzgerald S. , Newton C. , Barta M. , Jacobsen P.B. , Shelton M.M. , Moscoso M. , Johnson-Mallard V. , et al. .
Source: Biological Research For Nursing, 2013 Jan; 15(1), p. 37-47.
PMID: 22084404
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Mindfulness based stress reduction in post-treatment breast cancer patients: an examination of symptoms and symptom clusters.
Authors: Lengacher C.A. , Reich R.R. , Post-White J. , Moscoso M. , Shelton M.M. , Barta M. , Le N. , Budhrani P. .
Source: Journal Of Behavioral Medicine, 2012 Feb; 35(1), p. 86-94.
PMID: 21506018
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Randomized controlled trial of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) for survivors of breast cancer.
Authors: Lengacher C.A. , Johnson-Mallard V. , Post-White J. , Moscoso M.S. , Jacobsen P.B. , Klein T.W. , Widen R.H. , Fitzgerald S.G. , Shelton M.M. , Barta M. , et al. .
Source: Psycho-oncology, 2009 Dec; 18(12), p. 1261-72.
PMID: 19235193
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Molecular basis of the regulation of Beclin 1-dependent autophagy by the gamma-herpesvirus 68 Bcl-2 homolog M11.
Authors: Sinha S. , Colbert C.L. , Becker N. , Wei Y. , Levine B. .
Source: Autophagy, 2008 Nov; 4(8), p. 989-97.
PMID: 18797192
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