# Brief Behavioral Intervention for Dyspnea in Patients with Advanced Lung Cancer

> **NIH NIH R01** · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · 2020 · $499,749

## Abstract

Project Summary
Background: Dyspnea is a common and debilitating symptom of advanced lung cancer, with approximately
50% of patients reporting marked breathlessness. Dyspnea is associated with impaired quality of life,
decreased participation in social activities, symptoms of depression and anxiety, and even desire for death in
patients with lung cancer. Unfortunately, limited data support efficacious treatments for dyspnea. Our
multidisciplinary team recently conducted a pilot study examining the delivery of a brief, two-session behavioral
intervention for dyspnea management in patients with advanced lung cancer. Trained nurse practitioners
administered the intervention to patients in the infusion clinic to facilitate greater access and participation. We
observed statistically and clinically significant effects on patient-reported breathlessness, quality of life, and
depression symptoms, as well as high patient satisfaction with the intervention components and delivery.
Study Aims: For the proposed project, we seek to build on our prior positive findings by conducting a
randomized controlled trial (RCT) of the intervention in a larger sample of patients with advanced lung cancers.
We will first train oncology nurses to deliver the brief behavioral intervention for dyspnea management, again
at the point of care within the infusion clinic as this approach was central to the feasibility and acceptability of
the intervention in our pilot study. The specific aims of this study are to demonstrate the efficacy of the brief
behavioral intervention for improving self-reported dyspnea (primary outcome) as well as quality of life, mood,
and activity level (secondary outcomes) in patients with advanced lung cancer. Study Design & Methods: We
will enroll and randomly assign up to 200 patients diagnosed with advanced lung cancer (100 per study group)
to receive either the brief behavioral intervention for dyspnea or usual care. The trial will take place at the
Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Oncology nurses will
deliver two, 45 minute interventions sessions for each participant within the infusion clinic. All participants will
complete measures of dyspnea, quality of life, anxiety and depression symptoms, as well as activity level at
baseline after completion of the intervention phase at 8, 16, and 24 weeks. Conclusions: Other than opioid
medications, which offer little clinical benefit, data are lacking to support the efficacy of treatments for dyspnea,
a highly impairing symptom in patients with advanced lung cancer. We plan to train oncology nurses in
delivering a dyspnea management intervention that incorporates behavioral techniques shown to be effective
for improving breathlessness and reducing stress in patients with cancer. By training medical clinicians to
administer the behavioral intervention in the oncology care setting, we hope to maximize broad dissemination
and patient access to essential sympt...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9842014
- **Project number:** 5R01NR016694-04
- **Recipient organization:** MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** Joseph Andrew Greer
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $499,749
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-01-19 → 2021-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9842014

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9842014, Brief Behavioral Intervention for Dyspnea in Patients with Advanced Lung Cancer (5R01NR016694-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9842014. Licensed CC0.

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