Facilitating the transition to posttreatment survivorship for adolescent and young adults: A randomized waitlist control trial of a virtual mind-body intervention.

Authors

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Giselle Katiria Perez

Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA

Giselle Katiria Perez , Lucy Finkelstein-Fox , Michaela Markwart , Helen Mizrach , Christopher J. Recklitis , Brett M. Goshe , Lisa Brazzamano Kenney , Joseph A. Greer , Karen K Miller , Yuchiao Chang , Jeffrey M. Peppercorn , John W. Denninger , Elyse R Park

Organizations

Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA

Research Funding

U.S. National Institutes of Health
U.S. National Institutes of Health

Background: Adolescent and young adults (AYAs) with cancer experience chronic stress and poor quality of life, particularly in early posttreatment as AYAs grapple with a “new normal.” Mind-body programs introduced early posttreatment hold promise for providing AYAs with skills to mitigate the adverse psychosocial and physiological effects of stress. Methods: We adapted and piloted an 8-session virtual, mind-body stress management and resilience group program for AYAs (3RP-AYA) to support the posttreatment transition. AYAs were randomized to receive the 3RP-AYA immediately (intervention group; IG) or after 3 months (waitlist control; WC). Data were collected at baseline (T0), 3 (T1) and 6 months (T2). We assessed feasibility by examining 3RP-AYA participation and survey completion rates. Paired-samples t-tests evaluated within-group effects of the 3RP-AYA on coping, distress (worry, depression, uncertainty intolerance), and resilience from T0-T1 (intervention period for IG, waitlist period for WC). Independent-samples t-tests of T0-T1 change scores for each group tested between-group differences in strength of change. Cohen’s d characterized strength of within- and between- group differences. Acceptability (i.e., content satisfaction and perceived helpfulness) was assessed at progam end (T1 for IG, T2 for WC). Results: From 05/19-09/20, 72 AYAs (77% participation rate; Mage = 23.8; 73.6% female; mean 18-months posttreatment; 59.7% non-Hispanic white; 20.8% Hispanic; 25% international) were randomized to IG (n = 35) or WC (n = 37); 85.9% completed 6/8 sessions (median = 7), and 87.5% completed the T1 survey. At enrollment, AYAs presented with elevated worry (M = 52.5, SD = 12.2) and uncertainty intolerance (M = 33.8, SD = 8.7), resembling patients with generalized anxiety. From T0-T1, the IG demonstrated moderate-to-large improvements in coping (d= 0.78, P < .001), worry (d =0.45, p = .04), depression (d= .31, p = .11), tolerance of uncertainty (d = .37, p = .06) and resilience (d =.34, p = .09). When examining between-group differences, the IG showed significantly greater improvement in coping (d = 0.72, p = .01), with non-significantly greater change in worry, depression, tolerance of uncertainty, and resilience (ds = 0.27-0.49, ps > .09) relative to WC. Notably, 96.6% of participants reported overall content satisfaction, and 91.7% reported the 3RP-AYA was helpful. Conclusions: A virtual mind-body program is feasible, acceptable and shows promising efficacy in improving coping and distress among posttreatment AYAs. Findings offer a paradigm shift in the way survivorship care is delivered, suggesting that integrating a mind-body program into early posttreatment survivorship care can facilitate adjustment to life after treatment. This can have downstream effects on the long-term emotional and physical health of AYAs. Clinical trial information: NCT03768336.

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Abstract Details

Meeting

2023 ASCO Annual Meeting

Session Type

Poster Session

Session Title

Symptoms and Survivorship

Track

Symptom Science and Palliative Care

Sub Track

Psychosocial and Communication Research

Clinical Trial Registration Number

NCT03768336

Citation

J Clin Oncol 41, 2023 (suppl 16; abstr 12132)

DOI

10.1200/JCO.2023.41.16_suppl.12132

Abstract #

12132

Poster Bd #

500

Abstract Disclosures

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