Unified Barlow Protocol (UP) in Cancer Survivors for Cognitive Impairments

Background: Cognitive impairment appears frequently in cancer survivors, negatively affecting the quality of life and emotional well-being of patients. This study compares the effectiveness of a well-established treatment (cognitive rehabilitation) with the Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders (UP) to alleviate these cognitive deficits and evaluate its effect on anxiety-depressive symptoms and the quality of life of survivors.

Methods: A three-arm randomized superiority clinical trial, with a pre-post and follow-up repeated measures and intergroup design with a 1:1:1 allocation ratio will be carried out. A hundred and twenty-three breast cancer survivors with mild to moderate cognitive impairment will be randomly assigned to one of the interventions of the study: cognitive rehabilitation intervention group, an intervention group with UP intervention, or a control group on the waiting list. The primary outcome is to observe a significant improvement in cognitive function and quality of life in both intervention groups and a significant decrease in emotional impairments in comparison with the waitlist group. These results will be maintained at six months of follow-up.

Discussion: The aim of this work is to test the efficacy of the Unified Barlow Protocol in reducing cognitive deficits in breast cancer survivors. The results of this trial may be useful in reducing the presence of cognitive problems in survivors and improving their emotional state and quality of life.