A trial looking at treating depression in people with cancer (SMaRT Oncology 2)

Cancer type:

All cancer types

Status:

Results

Phase:

Other

This trial was looking at a treatment programme for depression in people with cancer. The trial was supported by Cancer Research UK.

About 1 in 10 people with cancer also have depression. This can really affect peoples' quality of life Open a glossary item.

In this trial, researchers compared 2 different ways of treating depression in people with cancer. The people taking part had 1 of the following

  • The usual care from their GP or cancer specialist
  • The usual care, and a treatment programme called Depression Care for People with Cancer (DCPC) which is delivered by a team of specially trained nurses and psychiatrists

The aim of the trial was to see how well the DCPC programme worked compared to usual care.

Summary of results

The trial team found that more people having DCPC responded to treatment for depression than those having usual care.

The trial recruited 500 people. They all had cancer and also had a diagnosis of major depression with symptoms for at least a month.

The trial was randomised. The people taking part were put into 1 of 2 groups by a computer. Neither they nor their doctor could decide which group they were in.

  • 253 had the Depression Care for People with Cancer programme
  • 247 had usual care

For people in the usual care group, the trial team told their GP and cancer specialist that they had depression and asked their doctors to treat them as they normally would. This might include the use of anti depressants, or being referred for treatment such as counselling. The people taking part were encouraged to ask their GP about getting treatment.

People in the DCPC group had this usual care, but they also had sessions with a specially trained nurse who worked in a team with a psychiatrist. They could have up to 10 sessions over 4 months and they were then followed up each month. During the treatment sessions, the nurse discussed anti depressant medication and provided psychological therapy such as education about depression and its treatment, finding ways to be as active as possible and learning ways to cope better with problems.

Each session was video recorded so that the nurse and psychiatrist could see how each person was getting on during their weekly team meetings.

Everyone taking part in the trial filled out some questionnaires every 3 months. One of the questionnaires used in this trial asks people about 20 symptoms of depression to give a score. A high score shows the symptoms are severe. A reduction in the score shows depression is improving. The researchers considered a 50% reduction in the score after 6 months as a response to treatment. The number of people who had this response to treatment was

  • 40 people (17%) in the group having usual care
  • 143 people (62%) in the group having the Depression Care for People with Cancer programme

The researchers also found that compared with usual care, people having DCPC had less anxiety, pain and tiredness (fatigue). They also rated their quality of life, and the quality of their depression care, as better than people having usual care

The trial team concluded that the programme was helpful for treating depression in people with cancer.

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

Recruitment start:

Recruitment end:

How to join a clinical trial

Please note: In order to join a trial you will need to discuss it with your doctor, unless otherwise specified.

Please note - unless we state otherwise in the summary, you need to talk to your doctor about joining a trial.

Chief Investigator

Professor Michael Sharpe

Supported by

Cancer Research UK
Chief Scientist’s Office
Scotland
Scottish Mental Health Research Network

If you have questions about the trial please contact our cancer information nurses

Freephone 0808 800 4040

Last review date

CRUK internal database number:

Oracle 4244

Please note - unless we state otherwise in the summary, you need to talk to your doctor about joining a trial.

Last reviewed:

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