Can coaching caregivers improve cancer Decision-Making?
NCT ID NCT04803604
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests a training program called CASCADE for family caregivers of people with advanced cancer. The goal is to see which parts of the training best help caregivers support patients in making medical decisions. 256 caregivers are taking part in different combinations of coaching sessions, communication training, and decision guides.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- CASCADE behavioral training program
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could identify the best way to train family caregivers to help patients make informed decisions, improving patient well-being.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early-stage optimization trial, not testing a final treatment. The results may not apply to all caregivers or settings, and the training may not improve outcomes.
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
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 256 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jan 2022
- Expected to finish
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Jun 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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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
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21 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide 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.
FAMILY CAREGIVERS Inclusion Criteria: 1. ≥21 years of age; 2. self-endorsing or identified by the patient as "a relative, friend, or partner that has a close relationship with you and who assists you with your medical decisions and who may or may not live in the same residence as you and who is not paid for their help"; 3. caring for a patient with advanced-stage cancer (see definition under Patient Inclusion criteria below); 4. caregivers will need to have an agreeable patient willing to participate in the study for data collection; and 5. English-speaking and able to complete baseline measures. Exclusion Criteria: 1\) Self-reported mental illness (i.e., schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or major depressive disorder), dementia, active suicidal ideation, uncorrected hearing loss, or active substance abuse. PATIENTS Inclusion Criteria: 1. ≥21 years of age; 2. diagnosed within 60 days of initial screening with an advanced cancer, defined as metastatic and/or recurrent/progressive stage III/IV cancer, including brain, lung, breast, gynecologic, head and neck, gastrointestinal, genitourinary cancer, melanoma, and hematologic malignancies. Exclusion Criteria: 1\) Medical record documentation of active severe mental illness (i.e., schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or major depressive disorder), dementia, active suicidal ideation, uncorrected hearing loss, or active substance abuse.
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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.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Emory University
Atlanta, Georgia, 30303, United States
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University of Alabama at Birmingham
Birmingham, Alabama, 35294, United States
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