Background: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide and characterized by a poor prognosis.\r\nIt has a major impact on the psychological wellbeing of patients and their partners. Recently, it has been shown\r\nthat Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is effective in reducing anxiety and depressive symptoms in cancer\r\npatients. The generalization of these results is limited since most participants were female patients with breast cancer.\r\nMoreover, only one study examined the effectiveness of MBSR in partners of cancer patients. Therefore, in the present\r\ntrial we study the effectiveness of MBSR versus treatment as usual (TAU) in patients with lung cancer and their partners.\r\nMethods/Design: A parallel group, randomized controlled trial is conducted to compare MBSR with TAU. Lung cancer\r\npatients who have received or are still under treatment, and their partners are recruited. Assessments will take place at\r\nbaseline, post intervention and at three-month follow-up. The primary outcome is psychological distress (i.e. anxiety and\r\ndepressive symptoms). Secondary outcomes are quality of life (only for patients), caregiver appraisal (only for partners),\r\nrelationship quality and spirituality. In addition, cost-effectiveness ratio (only in patients) and several process variables are\r\nassessed.\r\nDiscussion: This trial will provide information about the clinical and cost-effectiveness of MBSR compared to TAU in\r\npatients with lung cancer and their partners.
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