A study comparing 2 talking therapies for people having treatment for cancer symptoms (CanACT)

The research team found that it was possible to do both therapies. But that only a small number of people completed all the questionnaires, so it was difficult to get reliable results. They concluded it would be possible to run a larger trial if there were a few changes.

About this trial
The people taking part in this trial had advanced cancer and were having treatment to help with their symptoms. They all attended a local hospice.

They either had ACT or TC. They could have sessions once a week for 8 weeks. They had 3 months to have all 8 sessions, so people could miss weeks if they needed to and still complete the course.

The sessions were run by specialist therapists and lasted up to about an hour each time. People could have the sessions:

• at the day therapy unit within a hospice
• in their home
• at the therapist’s clinic

The research team asked the people taking part to complete some questionnaires before they started therapy. And at various points during and after the sessions. 

They asked about various things including:

• what they thought about the therapy
• their physical health and ability
• their psychological well being
• their emotional well being and social situation
• their quality of life
• what treatments they were having
• whether they were having any other specific psychological support

They also looked at how much the sessions cost.

Results
42 people agreed to take part in this trial. They were put into 1 of 2 groups at random:

• half had acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)
• half had talking control (TC)

The research team hoped that at least 6 out of 10 people (60%) would complete 7 or 8 of the sessions. They found that 26 out of 42 people (62%) did overall:

• 11 out of 21 (52%) who had ACT
• 15 out of 21 (71%) who had TC

They also hoped that at least 6 out of 10 people (60%) would complete the assessments and questionnaires at 3 months, but only 18 out of 42 people (43%) did. This was partly because people who felt unwell didn’t want to complete long questionnaires. 

The research team asked the people taking part whether they found the sessions useful, 3 months after starting therapy. Only 16 people completed this assessment. 

The number who thought the sessions were useful was:

• 5 out of 6 people (83%) who had ACT 
• 5 out of 10 people (50%) who had TC 

They also asked whether people found it easy to talk to the therapists. The number who said it was easy to talk to them was:

• 6 out of 6 people (100%) who had ACT 
• 6 out of 10 people (60%) who had TC 

When the research team looked at factors such as physical function, they found there wasn’t much difference between the 2 groups. But it’s difficult to draw any firm conclusions as only a small proportion of people completed the questionnaires.

The cost of the sessions were quite similar:

• £538 per person for ACT
• £555 per person for TC

The team predict that the cost per person would be less than that if there were more people having therapy.

Conclusion
The research team concluded that it would be possible to run a larger trial comparing ACT and TC. They suggest it would be better to do fewer assessments at 3 months, so that more people would feel able to complete them. They hope to be able to do a larger trial in the future.

They also suggest the trial should also be open to people with other medical conditions, not just cancer. This would help increase the number of people taking part.  

Where this information comes from    
We have based this summary on information from the research team. The information they sent us has been reviewed by independent specialists (peer reviewed ) and published in a medical journal. The figures we quote above were provided by the trial team who did the research. We have not analysed the data ourselves.