Cited by 17Cancer survivorship and careChildhood Cancer Survivors' Quality of LifePsychotherapy Techniques and Applications

Goal-Focused Emotion-Regulation Therapy (GET) in Young Adult Testicular Cancer Survivors: A Randomized Pilot Study

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Hoyt, Michael A, Wang, Ashley Wei-Ting, Ceja, Raymond Carrillo, Cheavens, Jennifer S, Daneshvar, Michael A, Feldman, Darren R, Funt, Samuel A, Nelson, Christian J·2023·Annals of Behavioral Medicine

Abstract

Background: Young adult testicular cancer survivors experience adverse impacts after treatment. We developed Goal-focused Emotion-regulation Therapy (GET) to improve distress symptoms, emotion regulation, and goal navigation skills. Purpose: This pilot study examined GET versus an active control intervention in young adult survivors of testicular cancer. Methods: Seventy-five eligible survivors treated with chemotherapy were randomized to receive GET or Individual Supportive Listening (ISL). Study acceptability, engagement, and tolerability were examined, and intervention fidelity and therapeutic alliance were compared between arms. Preliminary efficacy was evaluated by effect sizes for between-group changes in primary (anxiety and depressive symptoms) and secondary (career confusion, goal navigation, and emotion regulation) outcomes from baseline to immediately and 3-month post-intervention. Results: Among the 38 men randomized to GET, 81.1% completed all study sessions compared with 82.4% of the 37 men assigned to ISL. Fidelity to the intervention was 87% in GET. Therapeutic alliance wassignificantly higher among those receiving GET versus ISL. Participants exhibited a medium group-by-time effect size with greater reductions in depressive (d = 0.45) and anxiety (d = 0.29) symptoms for those in GET versus ISL, with a similar pattern at 3 months for depressive (d = 0.46) and anxiety (d = 0.46) symptoms. Conclusions: GET is a feasible and acceptable intervention for reducing adverse outcomes after testicular cancer for young adults. Observed effect sizes preliminarily suggest meaningful change, though should be interpreted with caution in small samples. GET may be a developmentally-matched behavioral approach to improve psychosocial function in this cancer group. Clinical Trial information: Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT04150848. Registered on October 28, 2019.

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  • The 40.5% consent rate is slightly higher, though similar, to recruitment metrics for other behavioral interventions targeting YA cancer survivors and studies involving patient-reported outcomes.

    “This number is slightly higher, though similar, to recruitment metrics for other behavioral interventions targeting YA cancer survivors [91, 92] and studies involving patient-reported outcomes [93]”
  • Goal-focused Emotionregulation Therapy (GET) has shown in pilot work to reduce psychological distress after testicular cancer.

    “One existing option for men with TC may be Goal-focused Emotionregulation Therapy (GET; characterised by goal setting derived by values combined with emotion regulation skills) that has shown in pilot work to reduce psychological distress after TC. 40”
  • Psychological distress results may be affected by limited measurement of other externalising symptoms in depression (e.g., risk-taking) and somatic symptoms for anxiety (e.g., nausea) more commonly reported by young men.

    “Finally, whilst PROMIS captured some externalising symptoms (e.g., anger) psychological distress results may be affected by limited measurement of other externalising symptoms in depression (e.g., risk-taking) and somatic symptoms for anxiety (e.g., nausea) more commonly reported by young men.38,39”

    From Malignancy, masculinities, and psychological distress: Comparisons made between men with testicular cancer and healthy controls (2024) · cites this paper as [39]

    The Outcome measures section says this study measured anxiety and depression with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, not PROMIS. Our copy does not discuss whether limited measurement of risk-taking, nausea, or other symptoms more commonly reported by young men could affect distress results (searched: externalising symptoms, risk-taking, somatic anxiety, nausea, and measurement limitations). (LLM, conf=0.76)

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Research works printed but not linked: 6

  1. Heckhausen J, Wrosch C, Schulz R. A motivational theory of lifespan development. Psychol Rev. 2010;117(1):32-60.
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Authors
Hoyt, M. A., Wang, A. W.-T., Ceja, R. C., Cheavens, J. S., Daneshvar, M. A., Feldman, D. R., Funt, S. A., & Nelson, C. J.
Affiliations
  • University of California, Irvine (US)
  • Soochow University (TW)
  • The Ohio State University (US)
  • Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (US)
Corresponding author
Hoyt, Michael A
Venue
Annals of Behavioral Medicine
Published
2023-04-20
Volume
57
Issue
9
Pages
777-786
ISSN
  • 0742-5554 (ISSN-L)
  • 0883-6612
  • 1532-4796
OpenAlex
W4366463010
Cited by
17
References
72
Citations by year
2026: 6 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 4
FWCI
2.07
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Annals of Behavioral Medicine (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • National Center for Research Resources
  • National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (UL1TR000457, UL1TR001414)
  • National Institutes of Health (P30CA062203)
  • Memorial Sloan Kettering (P30CA008748)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Cancer survivorship and care
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Childhood Cancer Survivors' Quality of Life
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications
Keywords
testicular cancer survivors, young adults, emotion regulation, anxiety, depressive symptoms, therapeutic relationship, intervention fidelity, treatment acceptability, psychosocial outcomes
MeSH terms
Emotional Regulation, Goals, Humans, Male, Neoplasms, Germ Cell and Embryonal, Pilot Projects, Testicular Neoplasms, Survivors, Young Adult

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