Online mindfulness therapy trial finds lower distress in people with cancer
Group-blended therapy showed lower distress than usual care after treatment; both online formats showed lower distress at follow-up.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
People assigned to group-blended online therapy reported less distress than those receiving usual care after treatment and at follow-up. The individual-unguided format showed a significant difference only at follow-up. These results do not establish that either online format is superior to the other, since the abstract reports comparisons with usual care.
The abstract gives no confidence intervals for distress effect sizes or treatment length. This abstract-based account also cannot establish how broadly the predominantly female sample represents people with cancer.
What researchers found
Psychological distress after treatment
Lower distress with group-blended therapy versus usual care after treatment, measured with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. The gap was 0.38 standard deviations, units of score variability rather than questionnaire points or percentages.
What was measured
Psychological distress after treatment was the primary outcome, assessed with an anxiety and depression questionnaire. Researchers analyzed participants according to their assigned groups, keeping the finding focused on reported psychological symptoms.
How to read the timing
Individual-unguided therapy did not show a statistically significant distress difference after treatment, but did at follow-up. That earlier result does not prove no effect, and the abstract does not directly compare the online formats.
The original publication
Randomized Controlled Trial of Group-Blended and Individual-Unguided Online Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy to Reduce Psychological Distress in People With Cancer.
Badaghi N, Kwakkenbos L, Prins J et al.
Psychooncology · 2025
- PubMed ID
- 40968786
- Record checked
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