The prevalence of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is increasing globally. This is the first study to evaluate the effectiveness of group-based psychotherapy in NSCLC patients with depression in Vietnam during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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 assessed 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 specialist’s supervision. Quantitative data from 16 participants in each arm were analyzed using proper statistics, with a statistical significance 0.05.

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). The intervention yielded a 29% reduction in the risk of depression relative to the control group (RR = 0.71). However, these findings were not statistically significant (p > 0.05). Notably, participants in the intervention group who remained depressed attended significantly fewer sessions on average compared to their counterparts in the control group (1.4 vs. 5.1 sessions), the difference was statistically significant (p < 0.05)

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. It is of necessity to have more larger studies with long term follow-up in the study.