Food for healing: study tests if grocery delivery helps cancer patients finish treatment
NCT ID NCT01603316
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study looks at whether providing food assistance—like vouchers, grocery delivery, or a hospital food pantry—helps cancer patients finish their treatment. About 600 patients with breast cancer who struggle to afford food will be randomly assigned to one of three programs. Researchers will track treatment completion and quality of life over six months.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- food assistance programs (food vouchers, home grocery delivery, hospital-based food pantry)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could show that providing reliable food support helps cancer patients finish their treatment and feel better overall.
- What could go wrong
- This is a mid-stage study, and results may vary by patient. The interventions address food access but not the cancer itself, so benefits may be limited.
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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Phase 2
Tests whether the treatment actually works, and watches for side effects, in a larger group.
- Participants
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606 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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May 2012
- Expected to finish
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May 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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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
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.
Inclusion Criteria: Focus Groups Inclusion Criteria: * Breast cancer patient, Stage 1,2, or 3 * Currently undergoing treatment with chemotherapy and/or radiation * Food insecure: score in the range of "very low" or "low" food security status on the USDA Household Food Security Module (score of 3 or higher) * Language spoken: English or Spanish * Age 18 or over Intervention Inclusion Criteria: * Enrolled in ICCAN (for the original arms only: pantry only, pantry + delivery, pantry + voucher) * Within one month (+/- 1 month) of starting chemotherapy or within two weeks (+/- 2 weeks) of starting radiation therapy) (may be prior to or after starting treatment) * Score in the range of 'very low' or 'low' food security status on the USDA Household Food Security Module (score of 3 or higher) * Living independently (no patient in an assisted living facility) * Age 18 or over * Able to provide informed consent and respond to questionnaires in either English, Spanish or Mandarin (Mandarin for the original arms only: pantry only, pantry + delivery, pantry + voucher) * Breast or gynecologic cancer diagnosis, Stage 1, 2, or 3 (for the updated arms only: 1) Food Voucher Program (Voucher); 2) Home Grocery Delivery Program (Delivery); and 3) Medically-tailored, Hospital-based Food Pantry (Pantry) Clinician is eligible if he/she: * Has an MD or DO degree * Is the treating physician providing care to a patient enrolled to the study Secondary Aim 6 Needs Assessment eligibility criteria: * Current or past breast cancer diagnosis * Living independently (no patient in an assisted living facility) * Age 18 or over * Able to provide informed consent and respond to questionnaires in either English, or Spanish Exclusion Criteria: Focus Groups Exclusion Criteria: * Has a household member who has already participated (or agreed to participate) Intervention Exclusion Criteria: * Significant psychiatric disturbance verified by medical record sufficient to preclude completion of the assessment measures, interview or informed consent (i.e. acute psychiatric symptoms which require individual treatment) * Presence of cognitive impairment disorder (i.e. delirium or dementia) sufficient to preclude meaningful informed consent and/or data collection * Can not speak English, Spanish or Mandarin (Mandarin for the original arms only: pantry only, pantry + delivery, pantry + voucher) * Has physical limitations that would prevent participation (e.g. blindness) * Patient's household is currently receiving or applying for SNAP benefits (formerly known as Food Stamps) (for the original arms only: pantry only, pantry + delivery,pantry + voucher) Secondary Aim 6 Needs Assessment Exclusion criteria: * Significant psychiatric disturbance verified by medical record enough to preclude completion of the assessment measures, interview or informed consent (i.e. acute psychiatric symptoms which require individual treatment) * Presence of cognitive impairment disorder (i.e. delirium or dementia) enough to preclude meaningful informed consent and/or data collection * Cannot speak English or Spanish * Has physical limitations that would prevent participation (e.g. blindness) * Patient or family member has participated in other MSK IHCD trials related to social determinants of health
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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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Bellevue Hospital Center
New York, New York, United States
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Brooklyn Hospital Center
Brooklyn, New York, 11201, United States
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Jacobi Medical Center
The Bronx, New York, 10465, United States
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Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center
The Bronx, New York, United States
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Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
New York, New York, 10065, United States
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Montefiore Health System (Montefiore Medical Center)
The Bronx, New York, 10467, United States
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New York Cancer & Blood Specialists (Data collection only)
The Bronx, New York, 10469, United States
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Queens Hospital Center
Jamaica, New York, 11432, United States
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Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care and Prevention
New York, New York, United States
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St. Barnabas Medical Center
The Bronx, New York, 10457, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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- Radioactive probe lights up CD73 on breast tumors in PET scans
- Can time with horses help cancer patients feel better?
- Can an oral drug replace injections for advanced breast cancer?
- Can a common steroid shield breast cancer patients from a dangerous drug side effect?