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ASCO23: Blue Note and Curebase's DTx reduces cancer-related distress in study
3 MINS
June 1, 2023
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Blue Note Therapeutics and partner Curebase's prescription digital therapeutic (DTx) significantly reduced anxiety and depression symptoms in patients with cancer, according to study findings to be presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) conference on Saturday. The companies teamed up in 2022 to assess the effectiveness of two DTx that could impact the mental and physical health of patients when used adjunctively with multidisciplinary oncology care regimens.
The decentralised randomised controlled trial compared the companies' cognitive behavioural stress management app, called attune, to the health education control app cerena in 449 cancer patients experiencing anxiety and depression symptoms. The study's primary outcome was a change in anxiety symptoms across conditions over time, while secondary goals included a change in depression symptoms as well as global impression of a change in anxiety and depression.
Clinically meaningful change
Study results showed that compared to the cerena app, participants who used attune saw significantly greater reductions in their anxiety and depression symptoms over 12 weeks. At the end of the study, patients who used attune were also significantly more likely to report that their anxiety and depression symptoms were "much" or "very much" improved, indicating clinically meaningful change, researchers said.
"Future work aims to explore implementation strategies to maximise benefit and accessibility of this cancer-specific digital therapeutic," they added. In 2022, Blue Note's "first-of-its-kind" prescription DTx BNT200 was granted an FDA breakthrough device designation to treat anxiety and depressive symptoms in certain adults with acute myeloid leukaemia.