Can compassion meditation ease the emotional toll of breast cancer?

NCT ID NCT05676255

What the study statuses mean

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Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now This study
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused
Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

Expanded access
Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

Details not published
The full record has not been published yet, so there is little to show here.
Status unknown
This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.

First seen Oct 08, 2026 · Last updated Oct 09, 2026 · Updated 1 time

Summary

Many breast cancer survivors face depression and anxiety long after treatment ends. This trial tests an eight-week online compassion meditation program called Cognitively-Based Compassion Training, delivered by video conference. It compares survivors who take the program with a supportive partner to those who take it alone, measuring changes in depression and anxiety symptoms.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance
Cognitively-Based Compassion Training, a secular compassion meditation program delivered over video conference
What this could lead to
If it works, this could give survivors and their partners a low-cost, home-based way to ease depression and anxiety after cancer treatment.
What could go wrong
Meditation does not help everyone, and distress after cancer often has many causes. Results from this program may not carry over to survivors without a partner or to other cancer types.

This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.

Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Phase

Phase 2

Tests whether the treatment actually works, and watches for side effects, in a larger group.

Participants

About 452 people

The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.

Started

Mar 2023

Expected to finish

Jun 2027

An estimate. End dates often move.

Lead sponsor

Other sponsor

The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.

Who can take part

This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.

Ages

18 years and older

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Accepted

You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.

Show the full entry requirements

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Breast cancer survivors: Inclusion Criteria: * biological sex: woman * able to speak and understand English * have a diagnosis of a breast cancer * have completed primary curative cancer treatments (i.e., surgery, radiation, chemotherapy) except for hormonal therapies (e.g., aromatase inhibitors) or trastuzumab a minimum of 3 months and a maximum of 5 years before starting CBCT or the control * have a supportive partner (aka caregiver) who can participate with them Exclusion Criteria: * nursing home resident * have ongoing (1 or more meditation sessions per week) or past regular meditation experience in the last 4 years (i.e., more than two meditation sessions \[completed or attempted\] per year, either with a group or individually, to be evaluated by the Principal Investigator) Supportive partners (aka informal caregivers) Inclusion Criteria: * named by the survivor * live in the same household as the survivor * able to speak and understand English Exclusion Criteria: * have ongoing (1 or more meditation sessions per week) or past regular meditation experience in the last 4 years (i.e., more than two meditation sessions \[completed or attempted\] per year, either with a group or individually, to be evaluated by the Principal Investigator)

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

How to take part

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  1. The places running it

    1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.

  2. The official record

    ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.

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  3. A doctor treating you

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Contacts and locations

Locations

  • University of Arizona

    RECRUITING

    Tucson, Arizona, 85721, United States

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