A Biobehavioral Intervention to Reduce Adverse Outcomes in Young Adult Testicular Cancer Survivors
University of California, Irvine
Summary
This study is a randomized controlled biobehavioral efficacy trial designed to investigate the feasibility and acceptability of a novel intervention, Goal-focused Emotion-Regulation Therapy (GET) aimed at improving distress symptoms, emotion regulation, goal navigation skills, and stress-sensitive biomarkers in young adult testicular cancer patients. Participants will be randomized to receive six sessions of GET or Individual Supportive Listening (ISL) delivered over eight weeks. In addition to indicators of intervention feasibility, the investigators will measure primary (depressive and anxiety symptoms) and secondary (emotion regulation and goal navigation skills, career confusion) psychological outcomes prior to (T0), immediately after (T1), twelve weeks after intervention (T2) and 24 weeks after the intervention (T3). Additionally, identified biomarkers will be measured at baseline and at T1, T2, and T3.
Description
Testicular cancer diagnosis and treatment, especially given its threat to sexuality and reproductive health, can be distressing in the formative period of young adulthood. Cohort studies reveal the prevalence of depressive symptoms in testicular cancer exceeds the general population. In fact, the majority of young adult cancer survivors will experience impairing, distressing, and modifiable physical, behavioral, and psychosocial adverse outcomes that persist long after the completion of primary medical treatment. These include psychological distress, impairment in the navigation and pursuit of…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 18–39 years
- Sex
- Male
- Healthy volunteers
- No
Inclusion Criteria: * Age 18 to 39 years at time of consent * A confirmed diagnosis of testis cancer (any stage) * Completion of chemotherapy for testis cancer within 4 years prior to consent * A score of \>4 on the Distress Thermometer * English fluency, as per medical record documenting preferred language or in the judgment of the investigator * Spanish fluency, as per medical record documenting preferred language or in the judgment of the investigator * Able to perform informed consent Exclusion Criteria: * Lifetime history of psychiatric of cognitive disturbance as per self-report or me…
Interventions
- BehavioralGoal-Focused Emotion-Regulation Therapy (GET)
Patients will be asked to identify value-derived goals (i.e., goals for the most important domains of one's life) and ones sufficiently important to sustain movement toward them in the short-term future. Patients will discuss their goal possibilities, providing a forum to ensure that goals are manageable and consistent with identified values. Patients will learn strategies to refine their goals (e.g., approaching goals rather than avoiding obstacles, defining markers of progress), generate pathways to goals, and address potential obstacles and blockages. The overall goal is to enhance self-regulation through improved goal navigation skills, improved sense of meaning and purpose, and better ability to regulate specific emotional responses.
- BehavioralIndividual Supportive Listening
ISL sessions will be matched in terms of time and attention. Supportive therapy will be non-directive and will primarily reinforce a patient's ability to manage stressors through attentively listening and encouraging expression of thoughts and feelings, assisting the individual to gain a greater understanding of their situation and alternatives, and helping to buttress the individual's self-esteem and resilience. This will be delivered in the same manner as GET (individually) and is a common, non-directive control method in intervention research.
Location
- University of California, IrvineIrvine, California