A Music Therapy Study for Blood Cancer Survivors With Cognitive Difficulties

Pilot Trial of Telehealth Music Therapy for Cognitive Dysfunction in Hematologic Cancer Survivors (PRELUDE)

Research has shown that music-based activities may help improve brain functions, such as attention, memory, and executive function. Because of this past research, the researchers are doing this study to find out whether telehealth music therapy is a practical treatment for cognitive difficulties in blood cancer survivors. The researchers will also study whether music therapy and music education help improve cognitive function and other common symptoms such as anxiety, depression, and/or tiredness.

Inclusion Criteria:

• English-proficient, aged 18 or older
• Diagnosis of lymphoma, leukemia, or myeloma
• Stable oncologic disease or no evidence of disease as indicated in the medical chart or by the oncology team
• Score of <54 on the FACT-Cog PCI subscale
• Minimum life expectancy of one year as per clinician assessment
• Patient should be able to understand and complete all study assessments on their own.
• Eligible patient should be able to understand informed consent and provide signed informed consent in English.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Less than 3 months since completion of surgery, radiation, induction chemotherapy (for newly diagnosed or relapsed disease), transplantation, or immunotherapy (e.g., CAR T-Cell, bispecific antibodies)

  • If there is a defined treatment period, the patient must be at least 3 months from treatment completion
  • If the patient is on continuous therapy, patient must have completed at least 6 months of the therapy
  • Maintenance therapies are allowed

• Received music therapy (MT) in the past year

• Current music training, >6 months of music training in the past 10 years, or plan to initiate music training during the study

• No access to an internet-connected device

• Active suicidal ideation, bipolar, schizophrenia, or substance abuse

• BOMC score ≥10 (indicative of dementia)

• Uncorrectable visual, auditory, or motor impairments

• Initiation or altered dose of sedative, stimulant, or anti-cholinergic medications in the past month or plan to initiate these medications during the study, as these are known to impact cognitive function

• Initiation of any other interventions for CRCD (e.g., cognitive rehabilitation) in the past month or plan to initiate these interventions during the study, as these are known to impact cognitive function