Meaning-centered psychotherapy for Mexican patients with advanced cancer
Official title: Trial of Meaning Centered Psychotherapy for Mexican Patients with Advanced Cancer
Funded at Sloan-Kettering Inst Can Research · NIH-11399205 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project offers a Spanish-language meaning-centered psychotherapy program to help Mexican people with advanced cancer cope with depression, anxiety, and worries about mortality while finding peace and purpose.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Sloan-Kettering Inst Can Research NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (New York, United States) |
| Project start | August 1, 2024 |
| Project end | May 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $120,960 |
| NIH project number | 3R01MH137857-02S1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11399205 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are Spanish-speaking Mexican adults with advanced cancer who are experiencing depression, anxiety, or distress about meaning and the future and who receive care at or near the National Mexican Cancer Institute.
✕Less likely to help
People without advanced cancer, those who do not speak Spanish, or patients with severe cognitive impairment or urgent medical needs may not benefit from this psychotherapy program.
What this research studies
You would be offered a culturally adapted, meaning-centered therapy program designed to help people with advanced cancer deal with fears about death, uncertainty, and spiritual concerns. The program was adapted for Spanish-speaking Latinos and will be delivered by trained psycho-oncology staff in collaboration between Memorial Sloan Kettering and Mexico's National Cancer Institute (INCan). If you take part, you would attend therapy sessions at INCan and complete brief mood, meaning, and quality-of-life questionnaires before and after the therapy. The team will track changes in symptoms and wellbeing to see how the program works for Mexican patients.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this therapy could reduce depression and anxiety and help patients with advanced cancer feel more meaning, peace, and purpose near the end of life.
How similar studies have gone: Meaning-centered psychotherapy has shown feasibility and benefits in prior trials and a pilot study with Spanish-speaking Latino patients, but it has not yet been tested specifically with Mexican cancer patients.
Where this research is happening
-
Sloan-Kettering Inst Can Research
New York, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Costas-Muniz, Rosario — Sloan-Kettering Inst Can Research
- Study coordinator: Costas-Muniz, Rosario
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.