Pilot implementation of group-based psychotherapy led by nonspecialists for lung cancer patients with depression at Vietnam National Cancer Hospital

Aim: The prevalence of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is high, with an increasing global disease burden. This is the first study to evaluate the effectiveness of group-based psychotherapy in patients with NSCLC and depression in Vietnam during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A non-randomized controlled intervention study was conducted on 40 depressed adult patients with NSCLC at the Vietnam National Cancer Hospital (VNCH) from August 2021 to August 2022. Depression was screened for and followed up using the Patient Health Questionnaire, nine items (PHQ-9) with a cutoff 8. The virtual group intervention consisted of eight weekly sessions with the facilitation of two trained non-specialists under the supervision of a specialist. Quantitative data from 16 participants in each arm were analyzed using proper statistics, with a statistical significance 0.05. Results: Depression remission was observed in both groups. The decrease in the median PHQ-9 score of the intervention group (from 10.5 to 7) was higher than that of the control group (from 10.5 to 9 score). However, this difference was not statistically significant (p>0.05). The intervention reduced the risk of depression by 29% compared with the control group (RR=0.71, p<0.05). In the intervention group, five subjects who remained depressed participated in fewer sessions than the control group’s figure (1.4 vs 5.1 average) with p < 0.05. Conclusion: The group psychological intervention led by non-specialists is a promising approach to managing mental health problems in cancer patients, especially in online formats with low cost to adapt to limited-resource contexts.