title: Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy reduces chronic cancer-related fatigue: a treatment study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  About one-third of cancer survivors suffer from severe chronic fatigue. Aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of mindfulness-based cognitive group therapy in reducing severe chronic fatigue in cancer survivors with mixed diagnoses.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants (n = 100) were randomly selected from a cohort and allocated to an intervention and a waiting list condition. Analyses were based on 59 participants in the intervention condition and 24 in the waiting-list condition. Fatigue severity (Checklist Individual Strength), functional impairment (Sickness Impact Profile) and well being (Health and Disease-Inventory) were assessed before and after the 9-week intervention. The intervention group had a follow-up 6 months following the intervention.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At post-treatment measurement the proportion of clinically improved participants was 30%, versus 4% in the waiting list condition (χ(2) (1) = 6.71; p = 0.007). The mean fatigue score at post-measurement was significantly lower in the intervention group than in the waiting list group corrected for pre-treatment level of fatigue. The mean well-being score at post-measurement was significantly higher in the intervention group than in the waiting list group corrected for pre-treatment level of well-being. The treatment effect was maintained at 6-month follow-up. No difference between the two conditions was found in functional impairment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy is an effective treatment for chronic cancer-related fatigue.
authors.affiliation: Helen Dowling Institute, Centre for Psycho-Oncology, Utrecht, The Netherlands. mvanderlee@hdi.nl
authors.forename: Marije L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: van der Lee
authors.forename: Bert
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Garssen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000628:therapy; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005221:Fatigue / Q000209:etiology* / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000150:complications*; D011615:Psychotherapy, Group / Q000379:methods*; D018434:Sickness Impact Profile; D017741:Survivors; D016896:Treatment Outcome