A GOAL-FOCUSED INTERVENTION TO REDUCE THE ADVERSE IMPACT OF TESTICULAR CANCER IN YOUNG ADULTHOOD: A RANDOMIZED TRIAL

Objectives/Purpose Testicular cancer can be distressing in the formative period of young adulthood. The majority of young survivors experience impairing, distressing, and modifiable adverse outcomes. These include distress, impairment in pursuit of life goals, and biobehavioral burden (e.g., enhanced inflammation, dysregulated stress hormones). Yet, few targeted interventions exist to promote adjustment and none focus on reducing morbidity via biobehavioral mechanisms. This talk will present results from a pilot randomized controlled trial designed to investigate the preliminary efficacy of a novel intervention, Goal‐focused Emotion‐Regulation Therapy (GET), aimed at improving distress symptoms, emotion regulation, goal‐navigation, and stress‐sensitive biomarkers. Methods Participants [N=75; M age=28, SD=4.2)] were randomized to receive six sessions of GET or Individual Supportive Therapy (ISP). Primary (depressive symptoms) and secondary (emotion‐regulation and goal‐navigation skills, career confusion) outcomes before, after, and 3‐months after intervention were measured. Stress (i.e., salivary stress markers) and proinflammatory biomarkers (i.e., plasma sTNF?RII, IL‐6, CRP, IL‐Ira) were also measured. Results Those receiving GET had a 35% pre/post reduction in depressive symptoms, and reductions were maintained in the GET (and not ISP) condition 3‐months post intervention with a small to moderate between‐group effect size (Cohen's d = .4). Depressive symptoms in ISP did not change significantly from baseline to post‐intervention or at 3‐months. GET significantly increased goal navigation capacity, emotion regulation skills, and life satisfaction; and career confusion was reduced 35% in the GET condition (17% in ISP). Receipt of GET (versus ISP) was significantly related to reduction in IL‐1ra from pre‐ to post‐intervention (b = ‐.64, p < .05); Cohen's d = 0.65). Also, decreases were observed in both groups post‐intervention with effect sizes favoring GET for IL‐6 (Cohen's d = 0.26; 0.22 for ISP) and CRP (0.14 for GET; 0.06 for ISP). There were significant pre‐ to post‐intervention declines in daily salivary cortisol (area under the curve): 18% reduction in the GET group; 2% reduction in ISP. Conclusion and Clinical Implications GET has potential to improve self‐regulation across biobehavioral domains, improve overall cancer adjustment for young adults.