{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,15]],"date-time":"2026-09-15T15:39:10Z","timestamp":1789486750143,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":20,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,13]],"date-time":"2026-09-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1789257600000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Omega (Westport)"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Existential distress and demoralization are common among patients with advanced cancer and are associated with impaired psychological well-being, reduced quality of life and difficulties in end-of-life adjustment. Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy (MCP), grounded in Viktor Frankl\u2019s logotherapy, was developed to address these existential dimensions of suffering. This narrative review synthesizes evidence from randomized and controlled studies evaluating MCP in adults with advanced cancer and discusses its clinical relevance within supportive and palliative care. Across studies, MCP demonstrated consistent improvements in meaning in life and spiritual well-being, with more modest effects on depressive symptoms and variable effects on anxiety and global quality of life. The available evidence supports MCP as a feasible and clinically relevant intervention for addressing existential distress, demoralization and loss of meaning in advanced cancer. Future research should examine long-term outcomes and implementation within routine oncology care.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/00302228261489674","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,13]],"date-time":"2026-09-13T09:30:33Z","timestamp":1789291833000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy for Existential Distress and Demoralization in Advanced Cancer: A Narrative Review of Clinical Evidence and Implications for End-of-Life Care"],"prefix":"10.1177","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0000-6947-2784","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Vaia","family":"Pappa","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Aristotle University of Thessaloniki"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Diomidis","family":"Antoniadis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Aristotle University of Thessaloniki"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,13]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_5_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/pon.4583"},{"key":"e_1_3_5_3_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/med\/9780199837229.001.0001"},{"key":"e_1_3_5_4_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/pon.1556"},{"key":"e_1_3_5_5_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1200\/JCO.2014.57.2198"},{"issue":"9","key":"e_1_3_5_6_1","first-page":"1130","article-title":"Meaning-centered psychotherapy for patients with advanced cancer: A randomized controlled trial","volume":"24","author":"Breitbart W.","year":"2015","unstructured":"Breitbart W., Rosenfeld B., Pessin H., Applebaum A. J., Kulikowski J. R., Lichtenthal W. G. (2015b). Meaning-centered psychotherapy for patients with advanced cancer: A randomized controlled trial. Psycho-Oncology, 24(9), 1130\u20131137. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/pon.4006","journal-title":"Psycho-Oncology"},{"key":"e_1_3_5_7_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/1467-9566.ep11339939"},{"issue":"1","key":"e_1_3_5_8_1","first-page":"7","article-title":"Dignity and the essence of medicine","volume":"10","author":"Chochinov H. M.","year":"2007","unstructured":"Chochinov H. M. (2007). Dignity and the essence of medicine. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 10(1), 7\u20139. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1089\/jpm.2006.9987","journal-title":"Journal of Palliative Medicine"},{"key":"e_1_3_5_9_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S0277-9536(01)00084-3"},{"key":"e_1_3_5_10_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1046\/j.1440-1614.2002.01086.x"},{"key":"e_1_3_5_11_1","volume-title":"Man\u2019s search for meaning","author":"Frankl V. E.","year":"1963","unstructured":"Frankl V. E. (1963). Man\u2019s search for meaning. Beacon Press."},{"key":"e_1_3_5_12_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/082585970101700103"},{"issue":"5","key":"e_1_3_5_13_1","first-page":"989","article-title":"Meaning-centered interventions for patients with advanced cancer: A systematic review","volume":"28","author":"Lichtenthal W. G.","year":"2019","unstructured":"Lichtenthal W. G., Corner G. W., Sweeney C. R., Roberts K. E., Applebaum A. J., Kulikowski J. R., Breitbart W., Kissane D. W. (2019). Meaning-centered interventions for patients with advanced cancer: A systematic review. Psycho-Oncology, 28(5), 989\u2013999. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/pon.5051","journal-title":"Psycho-Oncology"},{"key":"e_1_3_5_14_1","volume-title":"Meaning reconstruction and the experience of loss","author":"Neimeyer R. A.","year":"2011","unstructured":"Neimeyer R. A. (2011). Meaning reconstruction and the experience of loss. American Psychological Association. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1037\/12301-000"},{"key":"e_1_3_5_15_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1037\/a0018301"},{"issue":"11","key":"e_1_3_5_16_1","first-page":"1345","article-title":"Meaning making and psychological adjustment following cancer: The mediating roles of growth, life meaning and restored just-world beliefs","volume":"24","author":"Park C. L.","year":"2015","unstructured":"Park C. L., Edmondson D., Fenster J. R., Blank T. O. (2015). Meaning making and psychological adjustment following cancer: The mediating roles of growth, life meaning and restored just-world beliefs. Psycho-Oncology, 24(11), 1345\u20131351. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/pon.3830","journal-title":"Psycho-Oncology"},{"issue":"4","key":"e_1_3_5_17_1","first-page":"538","article-title":"A systematic review of the demoralization syndrome in individuals with progressive disease and cancer","volume":"121","author":"Robinson S.","year":"2015","unstructured":"Robinson S., Kissane D. W., Brooker J., Burney S. (2015). A systematic review of the demoralization syndrome in individuals with progressive disease and cancer. 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