Music Therapy Versus Cognitive Behavioral Therapy via Telehealth for Anxiety in Survivors of Cancer: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Journal of Clinical Oncology · 2026-01-06

PURPOSE Anxiety is prevalent, disruptive, and undertreated among survivors of cancer. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is the first-line treatment, but not all individuals have access, respond to treatment, or prefer this option because of stigma. Music therapy is effective for short-term anxiety reduction, but it is unknown whether it is noninferior to first-line CBT for long-term anxiety reduction. METHODS This comparative effectiveness trial randomly assigned English- or Spanish-speaking survivors of cancer to seven weekly telehealth sessions of music therapy or CBT. The coprimary end points were changes in the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) anxiety score at weeks 8 and 26. The noninferiority margin was 0.35 standard deviations, informed by a minimal clinically important difference (MCID) of 1.7 points. Secondary outcomes included fatigue, depression, insomnia, pain, cognitive dysfunction, and health-related quality of life. RESULTS Among N = 300 patients, 74.7% was female, 76.5% was White, and 19.0% was Hispanic. At week 8, the mean change in HADS anxiety score was –3.12 (95% CI, –3.59 to –2.65) in music therapy and –2.97 (95% CI, –3.45 to –2.50) in CBT; the between-group difference was –0.15 (95% CI, –0.78 to 0.49), within the noninferiority margin of 1.20 ( P < .001). At week 26, the mean change was –3.31 (95% CI, –3.78 to –2.85) in music therapy and –3.00 (95% CI, –3.47 to –2.53) in CBT; the between-group difference was –0.31 (95% CI, –0.95 to 0.32), within the noninferiority margin of 1.28 ( P < .001). Both groups produced anxiety reductions exceeding the MCID and showed similar improvements in secondary outcomes. CONCLUSION Music therapy is noninferior to CBT for anxiety in survivors of cancer. Both telehealth interventions produced clinically meaningful, durable improvements in anxiety.

Impact of a Reproductive Health Survivorship Care Plan on Fertility, Pregnancy Concerns, and Accessing Reproductive Healthcare Among Young Nulliparous Breast Cancer Survivors

Cancer Reports · 2026-01-01

BACKGROUND: Young patients with breast cancer frequently receive chemotherapy and/or endocrine therapy that adversely affect ovarian function, leading to fertility, pregnancy, and other reproductive health concerns. Despite available evidence-based management strategies, dissemination to survivors and healthcare providers remains limited, resulting in substantial unmet informational and care needs. Web-based survivorship care plans may offer an effective approach to address these gaps. AIMS: To evaluate the effect of a web-based Reproductive Health Survivorship Care Plan (SCP-R) on reproductive concerns and reproductive healthcare access among nulliparous young breast cancer survivors (YBCS). METHODS AND RESULTS: This is a secondary analysis of a 24-week randomized controlled trial on the effectiveness of a web-based SCP-R addressing unmet informational and clinical management needs for breast cancer survivors aged 18-50 years. The current analysis is restricted to nulliparous participants ages 18-40. The primary outcomes are improvement in fertility and pregnancy health concerns, as measured by the Reproductive Concerns After Cancer (RCAC) scale. The secondary outcome is fertility specialist access measured by referral, consultation, or treatment by a fertility specialist. Among 182 study participants from the parent trial, 47 met the inclusion criteria for the current study (17 in the intervention and 30 in the attention control). Mean age at diagnosis was 30.7 (SD = 3.5) years, and mean age at study participation was 34.0 (SD = 3.8) years. Fertility potential and pregnancy concerns improved in 35.3% of participants randomized to the intervention arm compared to 10.0% in the control arm (RR = 3.5, 95% CI = 1.01-12.34, p = 0.05). Intervention arm participants were significantly more likely to receive a fertility specialist referral, schedule a fertility consult, or undergo fertility treatment (37.5% in the intervention arm vs. 6.7% in the control arm; RR = 5.6, 95% CI = 1.28-24.73, p = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: The web-based SCP-R intervention led to improvements in fertility potential and pregnancy concerns over time and resulted in more YBCS accessing fertility specialists, highlighting the importance of age- and parity-specific survivorship care interventions to address reproductive health concerns.

Looking ahead! the feasibility of implementing remote patient monitoring for high-risk oncology patients

BMC Health Services Research · 2025-07-03 · 2 citations

The goal of posthospital care delivery is to improve patient access to providers and prevent unnecessary readmissions. This study assessed the feasibility, barriers, and facilitating factors of implementing remote patient monitoring (RPM) for oncology patients at the Hartford HealthCare Cancer Institute (HHC), Hartford CT, and a state-wide healthcare system. A multi-model holistic approach to quantitative surveys, and qualitative interviews and focus groups were used to collect insights from hospital stakeholders about the culture, learning, leadership, and resources for implementing RPM. Stakeholders from HHC responded to the survey between September 1st through September 30th, 2022. The frequency and percentage distributions for survey item responses were calculated. Items with the highest percentage and frequency of neutral and disagreement responses informed the interview guide. A purposeful sample of hospital stakeholders and patients were recruited for interviews and focus groups, which were conducted from January 1st through January 30th, 2023. Current and future state organizational maps of clinical care models and processes were developed. Sixty-three stakeholders were sent the Readiness for Implementation Survey and 53 responded through an email link to a web-based database (84% response rate). Responses supported RPM to improve patient care (67%). Interviews and focus groups elicited stakeholder perceptions of implementing change, the change climate, available resources, and barriers and facilitators of RPM. Stakeholders (n = 78), inclusive of the 63 survey recipients, plus 15 stakeholders from the Cancer Patient and Family Advisory Council (PFAC) and hospital staff, agreed to participate in interviews and focus groups. Fifty-two individuals (67% response rate) agreed to participate. Eight individual interviews and 6 focus groups were conducted. The emerged themes included integrating change into hospital systems, relevance to patient care teams, and patient- and family-centered care. Subthemes were subsequently explored. Stakeholders endorsed using RPM to improve communication among providers and patients’ access to care. Providers underscored key elements for program success that include a designated intervention team, strategies to assess symptom alerts, and an enterprise-wide availability of clinical data in future RPM development. Patient stakeholders emphasized integrating a patient-centered approach to RPM development.

Application of Blended Teaching in Biomedical Laboratory Safety Education

Education Reform and Development · 2025-07-07

With the continuous advancement of higher education reform, educational informatization and digitalization have become important reform directions for biomedical laboratory education in colleges and universities. Against this background, the blended teaching model has been widely applied and has demonstrated great vitality and effectiveness in enhancing the interest and effectiveness of education and teaching. This also provides new opportunities for biomedical laboratory safety education. That is, it is necessary to actively construct a blended teaching model to comprehensively improve the quality of safety education and promote better learning, growth, and development of students. This article analyzes the connotation of blended teaching and explores its application value and countermeasures in biomedical laboratory safety education, for the reference of relevant personnel.

Effect of acupuncture on fatigue in cancer survivors with chronic pain: a secondary analysis

Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025-12-13

Patients’ Attitudes and Beliefs Toward Artificial Intelligence Use in Cancer Care: Cross-Sectional Survey Study

JMIR Cancer · 2025-12-22

Background: Artificial intelligence (AI) is being rapidly integrated into oncologic care, yet little is known about how patients perceive these applications. Understanding patient perceptions is critical to ensuring AI applications align with their needs and preferences. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate oncology patients' attitudes and beliefs on the use of AI across clinical touchpoints in cancer care. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey study with adult oncology patients from September to December 2024. The survey assessed patients' comfort with AI use across 8 clinical touchpoints of cancer care (eg, screening, diagnosis, treatment) on a 5-point Likert scale (1=very uncomfortable to 5=very comfortable). Patients also rated their concerns about AI, including potential harms related to its use (eg, medical errors, privacy breaches), on a 3-point Likert scale (1=not concerned to 3=very concerned). Results: Of 383 patients approached, 330 (86.2% response rate) participated; 184 (55.9%) were male, 162 (49.4%) were aged 65 years or older, 35 (10.8%) were Black, 40 (12.1%) were Hispanic or Latino, and 233 (72.6%) were actively receiving cancer treatment. Patients were most comfortable with AI use in cancer screening (80.2%) and supportive care applications, including exercise (78.2%), diet (74.8%), and herbs/supplements (72.4%). Patients were least comfortable with AI use to assist with diagnosis (70.4%), symptom management (67.5%), treatment planning (64.8%), and prognosis (61.5%). Nonetheless, about half (49.7%) were at least somewhat concerned with the use of AI in cancer care, most commonly about the loss of human interaction and medical errors. Conclusions: Although the majority of oncology patients had a favorable view of AI in cancer care, nearly half had concerns about potential harms. Incorporating patient perspectives into AI development is essential for patient-centered and high-quality cancer care.

Smart machines, green outcomes? analyzing corporate carbon with AI-enhanced robots

Technology Analysis and Strategic Management · 2025-09-02

Assessing the Implementation of Electronic Patient-Reported Outcomes (ePRO) to Reduce Follow-up Visits for Patients Undergoing Radiation Therapy for Breast Cancer

International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics · 2025-09-29

Symptoms, unmet needs, and quality of life in Erdheim-Chester disease: a longitudinal registry-based analysis

Blood Advances · 2025-07-02

ABSTRACT: Measurement of patient-reported outcomes (PROs) and health-related quality of life (HrQOL) are crucial for comprehensive, patient-centered cancer care. Both PROs and HrQOL have been understudied in patients with Erdheim-Chester disease (ECD), a rare cancer with protean manifestations, dense symptomatology, and frequent diagnostic delay. We sought to evaluate the longitudinal evolution of symptom burden and unmet supportive care needs in patients with ECD, and to identify associations between these PROs and HrQOL. A registry-based cohort of patients with ECD completed a PRO battery including the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G) and other validated PRO measures. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize the distribution of PROs and FACT-G scores; PROs were modeled by univariable linear regression with FACT-G total score as the dependent variable at (1) registry enrollment and (2) 12-month time points. Changes in FACT-G total score (the difference between the 12-month and enrollment scores) were correlated with changes in PROs using univariable linear regression analysis. In 158 patients, mean total FACT-G was 70.8, lower than observed across multiple cancer cohorts. Higher levels of pain and fatigue, presence of neurologic symptoms, and greater number of unmet needs were all associated with worse HrQOL. Improvement in pain, fatigue, and unmet needs over 12 months was significantly associated with improvement in HrQOL. In patients with ECD, HrQOL is substantially diminished, even when considering other patients with cancer. Mitigation of symptoms and addressing unmet supportive care needs represent opportunities for intervention to improve HrQOL in ECD.

Complementary Chinese Herbal Medicine Use and Gastrointestinal Cancers: A Scoping Review of Usage Patterns and Survival Outcomes in Taiwanese Population-Based Studies

Current Oncology Reports · 2025-11-07