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Breast CancerNCT05715255

Adaptive Symptom Self-Management Immunotherapy Study

A study testing Automated Telephone Symptom Management (ATMS) and Telephone Interpersonal Counseling (TIP-C) in people with Breast Cancer and Colon Cancer, run by University of Arizona at 3 sites in United States.

Active, not recruiting

Under way, not looking for participants. Everyone needed has enrolled. The study is still running.

Official record
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Trial summary

The use of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), alone or in combination with other cancer treatments is increasing dramatically with immune-related adverse events (irAEs) common (90%) during ICI treatment. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 years and older
Conditions the study is for
Breast Cancer, Colon Cancer, Lung Cancer
What is being tested?
Automated Telephone Symptom Management (ATMS) and Telephone Interpersonal Counseling (TIP-C)
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
400 participants
Where
3 sitesUnited States
Study dates
8 May 2023to 30 Apr 2027
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
Not yet: the study is under way

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 18 years and older
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • Age 18 or older
  • Within 12 weeks after starting ICI treatment for cancer
  • Cognitively oriented to person, place and time (determined by recruiter)
  • Able to speak and understand English or Spanish
  • Access to a telephone
  • Severity score of 1 (mild) or higher on at least 1 of the 3 indicators of psychological distress from the PRO-CTCAE (i.e., the three items of anxious, discouraged, sad) library

Who cannot join

  • Currently receiving regular behavioral counseling

Trial locations and contacts

3 sites in 1 country.

United States3 sites
  • University of Michigan

    Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48109

  • Valleywise Health Medical Center

    Phoenix, Arizona, 85008

  • University of Arizona Cancer Center

    Tucson, Arizona, 85724

Other trials in United States

About this study

Official title: Adaptive Symptom Self-Management to Reduce Psychological Distress and Improve Symptom Management for Survivors on Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors

The use of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), alone or in combination with other cancer treatments is increasing dramatically with immune-related adverse events (irAEs) common (90%) during ICI treatment. Most irAEs are symptomatic and symptom self-management with timely reporting of moderate or severe symptoms to health care providers (HCPs) may reduce irAE severity by early recognition and management, resulting in fewer treatment interruptions and unscheduled health services.

Read the detailed description

Using a sequential multiple assignment randomized trial (SMART) design, the study team will initially randomize 286 diverse survivors (30% Hispanic) who are within 12 weeks of starting ICIs and who also have elevated psychological distress to an Automated Telephone Symptom Management (ATSM) or to an active control condition. ATSM consists of weekly telephone symptom monitoring using the Patient Reported Outcomes version of the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (PRO-CTCAE) items by an automated voice response technology. Participants are referred to a printed Handbook with information about symptoms, evidence-based self-management strategies, and when to report symptoms to HCPs. ATSM automatically sends a weekly symptom summary to HCPs. Active control survivors will receive automated symptom monitoring only with reports sent to HCPs. Survivors in ATSM whose psychological distress is still elevated for 2 consecutive weeks during weeks 2-8 (nonresponders) will be randomized for the second time to add TIPC for 8 weeks or continue with ATSM alone. The study team hypothesizes adding TIPC will improve self-efficacy for symptom self-management, including communication with HCPs and increase social support resulting in lower indices of psychological distress, other PRO-CTCAE symptoms, clinician-documented irAES (primary outcomes), and unscheduled health services use and ICI treatment interruptions (secondary outcomes). With total intervention time of 16 weeks, all survivors will be interviewed at baseline and week 17 post-intervention, and electronic health record data will be extracted for the participation period.

Specific aims:

Aim 1. Determine if primary and secondary outcomes over weeks 1-17 are lower (better) in the group created by the first randomization: the adaptive intervention that begins with ATSM with the need-based addition of TIPC vs. active control group.

Aim 2. Among those not responding to ATSM on psychological distress during weeks 2-8 who enter the second randomization, determine: a) if primary and secondary outcomes over weeks 8-17 are lower (better) in TIPC+ATSM vs. ATSM alone group; b) the extent to which the effects of adding TIPC to ATSM on primary and secondary outcomes are mediated by increased social support, self-efficacy for symptom management and for communication with HCP.

Aim 3. Explore which baseline characteristics of the survivor, cancer, and cancer treatment are associated with optimal primary and secondary outcomes resulting from three supportive care options: 1) symptom monitoring only with automated reports to HCPs (active control); 2) ATSM alone for 16 weeks; or 3) addition of 8 weeks of TIPC to ATSM if no response on psychological distress during weeks 2-8.

Being tested
Automated Telephone Symptom Management (ATMS) and Telephone Interpersonal Counseling (TIP-C), Active control comparator
Keywords
Cancer, Cancer Survivors, Immunotherapy, Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors, Symptom Management, Psychosocial Oncology, Telephone Intervention
Medical subject headings
Breast Neoplasms, Colonic Neoplasms, Lung Neoplasms, Skin Neoplasms, Rectal Neoplasms, Neoplasms

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • Automated Telephone Symptom Management (ATMS) and Telephone Interpersonal Counseling (TIP-C)Behavioural

    Participants randomized to the adaptive intervention are telephoned weekly and asked to enter by pin-pad or voice the severity of the PRO-CTCAE items on a 0-4 scale, with 0 being none and 4 being very severe. Participants are mailed the Symptom Management and Survivorship Handbook in their preferred language (English or Spanish). Survivors who rated any item at moderate or higher (2-4) will be referred by the ATSM to read the corresponding chapters in the Handbook and given a call back in 24 hours to inquire about the severity of the reported symptom, whether it has improved or worsened, and whether the participant reported it to their HCP, or the HCP has contacted the survivor. Participants that report elevated symptoms for two consecutive weeks are rerandomized to continue the ATSM alone or continue the ATSM with TIP-C added for 8 weeks. TIP-C is delivered by a masters prepared counselor with cancer expertise via weekly 30-minute phone calls using interpersonal techniques.

  • Active control comparatorBehavioural

    Survivors in the active control will receive weekly AVR assessments of PROCTCAE symptoms, and summary of these assessments will be sent securely to HCPs. Survivors will not receive the Handbook and will not be prompted by the AVR to contact HCPs unless the symptoms are severe.

Study groups in NCT05715255
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Adaptive InterventionExperimentalThe adaptive intervention sequence is assumed to affect psychological distress (depression and anxiety) severity of other symptoms and irAEs, as tested in Aim 1. Both the Automated Telephone Symptom Management (ATSM) system and the Telephone Interpersonal Counseling (TIP-C) interventions help participants to identify and understand troublesome symptoms, with suggestions to effectively self-manage these symptoms. The proposed interventions are expected to alleviate burdensome symptoms through several key mediating variables, as tested in Aim 2.
Receives: Behavioral: Automated Telephone Symptom Management (ATMS) and Telephone Interpersonal Counseling (TIP-C)
Active ControlActive comparatorSurvivors in the active control will receive weekly AVR assessments of PROCTCAE symptoms, and summary of these assessments will be sent securely to HCPs. Survivors will not receive the Handbook and will not be prompted by the AVR to contact HCPs unless the symptoms are severe. An active control comparator was purposively selected to enable a more rigorous testing of intervention effectiveness in Aims 1 and 2. Also, the study team will be better able to address the question about which channel of communication (automated versus survivor initiated) results in better outcomes.
Receives: Behavioral: Active control comparator

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Change in patient reported psychological distress in Interviews.

    Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) has been developed using sophisticated measurement techniques, tested with over 21,000 individuals, calibrated to produce t-scores based on the general population and are available in either English or Spanish. The available short forms have evidence of good reliability and validity. PROMIS-short form 8 for depression and anxiety will be administered at baseline and 17-week telephone interviews to provide greater detail and precision in the measurement of severity of these symptoms, as compared to three PRO-CTCAE items (anxious, discouraged, sad). Each question is rated on a five-point scale from 1=Never to 5=Always. A higher score indicates higher anxiety or depression.The study team chose 8-item short forms to minimize respondent burden while maintaining measurement precision.

    Measured: PROMIS short form 8 for depression and anxiety will be administered at baseline (week 0) and again at week 17 as part of the final follow-up.

  2. Change in reported PRO-CTCAE Symptoms

    Psychological distress and other symptoms will be measured weekly using PRO-CTCAE severity items at weeks 0-17. Severity is rated 0=none, 1=mild, 2=moderate, 3=severe, 4=very severe. The 3 items reflecting psychological distress are anxious, discouraged, and sad. Other items relevant to ICI treatment were selected from the PRO-CTCAE library for a total of 23 items (e.g., nausea, vomiting, constipation, diarrhea, swelling, rash, increased sweating, heart palpitations, etc.). In addition to PRO-CTCAE, the study team will use data on the grades of irAEs documented by clinicians in the HER. Each of 3 item sets, the three PRO-CTCAE items of psychological distress, 23 other PRO-CTCAE items, and clinician documented irAEs will be summarized into three toxicity indices (TIs). All grades of the included items will be ordered from highest to lowest, and the weighted sum will be calculated.

    Measured: PRO-CTCAE will be administered weekly at baseline (week 0) through week 17.

Secondary outcomes (2)
  1. Change in cancer treatment interruptions

    Cancer treatment interruptions (dose reductions and stoppages) along with their dates will be extracted from EHRs and summarized as the number and duration of temporary stoppages and dose reductions, and whether or not a premature permanent or temporary stoppage of the ICI occurred during the 17-week study period.

    Measured: Cancer treatment interruptions will be measured after the final week 17 follow-up and take into account the participant's time on study (consent date through week 17 interview date).

  2. Change in unscheduled health care visits

    Unscheduled health care visits, hospitalizations and emergency department visits will be summarized as the number of events and number of days spent in the hospital if admitted.

    Measured: Unscheduled health care visits will be measured at baseline and week 17.

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted6 Feb 2023
  2. Study start8 May 2023
  3. Primary completion30 Apr 2027 (estimated)
  4. Study completion30 Apr 2027 (estimated)

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Supportive care
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Sequential
Masking
Double blind
Who is masked
Care provider, Outcomes assessor
Enrolment
400 participants (estimated)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT05715255
Sponsor's protocol ID
STUDY00000719
Other IDs
1R01CA263714-01A1
Status last verified
Jul 2026
First submitted
27 Jan 2023
Last updated
31 Jul 2026
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
Individual data sharing
Yes: Participant data will be shared with Dr. Alla Sikorski as she is the statistician for our research team and leads data analysis, interpretation of the results, and report writing. Dr. Sikorski will perform quality assurance checks, data analysis, data management, etc. De-identified data will be transferred into SAS 9.4 for such analysis. All errors are corrected during the QA check. Dr. Sikorskii will oversee preparation of data reports.

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Automated Telephone Symptom Management (ATMS) and Telephone Interpersonal Counseling (TIP-C) in people with Breast Cancer and Colon Cancer, run by University of Arizona at 3 sites in United States.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 6 inclusion and 1 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: under way, not looking for participants, as of the sponsor's last update on 31 Jul 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 3 sites in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Change in patient reported psychological distress in Interviews. (time frame: PROMIS short form 8 for depression and anxiety will be administered at baseline (week 0) and again at week 17 as part of the final follow-up.). The study lists 2 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 31 Jul 2026.

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