Study Assessing the Effects of Early Psychiatric Referral on Mental Health and Quality of Life in People With Sarcoma

Launched by MEMORIAL SLOAN KETTERING CANCER CENTER · Nov 10, 2023

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This clinical trial is studying how early access to mental health care can affect the overall well-being of patients with sarcoma, which is a type of cancer that can occur in bones or soft tissues. Researchers want to see if getting psychiatric support early in the treatment process can help reduce feelings of depression and anxiety, improve surgical outcomes, and increase patient satisfaction for those undergoing surgery for sarcoma.

To be eligible for the study, participants must be at least 18 years old, have a confirmed diagnosis of primary bone or soft tissue sarcoma, and be planning to undergo surgery at a specific hospital. They should also be able to speak English well, as the study involves discussions about health care. Participants can expect to receive early mental health support during their treatment and will be closely monitored for any changes in their emotional and physical health throughout the study.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • Age ≥18 years
• • Tissue diagnosis of primary bone or soft tissue sarcoma
• • o Note: high suspicion of sarcoma on history and imaging acceptable, if reviewed and approved by the PI
• • Presenting to the Orthopaedic Surgery Service
• • Treatment plan includes surgery at MSK for treatment of the primary sarcoma
• • No previous treatment for sarcoma
• • Proficient in English
• • As determined by use of the Census-LEP question
• • The patient's response to the question: "How well do you speak English?" must be "very-well" for inclusion. Additionally, English must be identified as the patient's preferred language for discussing healthcare.
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • Significant psychiatric disturbance determined from self-report and/or chart review, sufficient, in the investigator's judgment, to preclude participation in the study" (e.g., underlying severe mental illness, h/o suicide attempts, or h/o psychiatric admissions) Clinical concern at the time of randomization of mental health urgency or emergency requiring evaluation; urgency and emergency will be defined as moderate or high scores, respectively, on the CSSR-S or according to the judgment of the orthopaedic physician evaluating the patient
• • Note: investigators considered exclusion of patients with no or mild symptoms of anxiety and depression, however due to risk of new symptoms arising during the course of treatment, risk of underreporting, risk of under detection, and given prior data on the high prevalence of symptoms, we elected to include all patients in this pilot study.