Previously submitted to: Journal of Medical Internet Research (no longer under consideration since Sep 19, 2024)
Date Submitted: Jun 15, 2023
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Effectiveness and acceptability of digital cognitive behavioral therapy for fear of cancer recurrence: a systematic review
ABSTRACT
Background:
Cognitive behavioral therapy can be effective in treating negative cancer psychology, and since fear of cancer recurrence seriously troubles cancer patients or survivors, digitalized cognitive behavioral therapy may improve the strategy used to treat FCR. There is no evidence that focuses specifically on digitalized cognitive behavioral therapy for FCR in cancer patients or survivors.
Objective:
To investigate the effectiveness and acceptability of digitalized CBT for FCR in cancer patients or survivors.
Methods:
Seven databases were systematically searched (PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, Embase, PsycINFO, and Scopus) for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published from the database build to April 6, 2023. The PRISMA guidelines were followed, and the protocol was registered in the Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews. The included literature was evaluated using the revised Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool (ROB2).
Results:
This review identified nine studies from five countries (the Netherlands, China, Australia, Germany, and Ireland) published between 2017 and 2023. Sample sizes ranged from 57 to 363 individuals. Text, images, video, games, interactive features, and peer group conversations were some of the technical components employed in the intervention. Digital CBT therapies for FCR in cancer patients or survivors were shown to be successful, as evidenced by the intervention group's better results when compared to those of the control group (Hedges g = -1.60, 95% CI: -2.44 to -0.77; p<0.01). The acceptability of this study showed positive results based on user feedback, with most studies having a failure rate of less than 15%. Most studies had a high risk of bias.
Conclusions:
The study showed promising evidence when it came to efficacy and positive outcomes for FCR, and user feedback was positive. However, the overall risk of bias indicates that the effectiveness of the intervention needs to be interpreted with caution. Clinical Trial: PROSPERO International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews CRD42023427748.
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