The effect of group psychosocial support on survival in metastatic breast cancer.

Background: Supportive-expressive group therapy has been reported to prolon g survival among women with metastatic breast cancer. However, in recent st udies, various psychosocial interventions have not prolonged survival. Methods: In a multicenter trial, we randomly assigned 235 women with metast atic breast cancer who were expected to survive at least three months in a 2:1 ratio to an intervention group that participated in weekly supportive-e xpressive group therapy (158 women) or to a control group that received no such intervention (77 women). All the women received educational materials and any medical or psychosocial care that was deemed necessary. The primary outcome was survival; psychosocial function was assessed by self-reported questionnaires. Results: Women assigned to supportive-expressive therapy had greater improv ement in psychological symptoms and reported less pain (P=0.04) than women in the control group. A significant interaction of treatment-group assignme nt with base-line psychological score was found (P less than or equal to0.0 03 for the comparison of mood variables; P=0.04 for the comparison of pain) ; women who were more distressed benefited, whereas those who were less dis tressed did not. The psychological intervention did not prolong survival (m edian survival, 17.9 months in the intervention group and 17.6 months in th e control group; hazard ratio for death according to the univariate analysi s, 1.06 [95 percent confidence interval, 0.78 to 1.45]; hazard ratio accord ing to the multivariate analysis, 1.23 [95 percent confidence interval, 0.8 8 to 1.72]). Conclusions: Supportive-expressive group therapy does not prolong survival in women with metastatic breast cancer. It improves mood and the perception of pain, particularly in women who are initially more distressed. (N Engl J Med 2001;345:1719-26.) Copyright (C) 2001 Massachusetts Medical Society.