Patient-Reported Worst-Case Scenarios in Advanced Cancer: Presence, Contents, and Predictors.

Background: Advancements in precision oncology have led to a growing community of adults with advanced cancer who live longer but face prognostic uncertainty, with corresponding fears of the future. Their worst future fears related to cancer remain understudied, hindering support efforts.

Aims: This study aimed to characterize the presence, content, and predictors of imagined future worst-case scenarios related to cancer (WCS) among distressed adults with advanced cancer.

Incidence of patient-reported fatigue developing on palbociclib and endocrine therapy for advanced HR+ HER2- breast cancer.

Objectives: Fatigue is a common nonhematologic toxicity of the CDK4/6 inhibitor palbociclib in metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients with prevalence rates of clinician-rated all-grade and grade 3/4 fatigue of 39.2% and 2.5%, respectively.

Optimizing the Use of Personal Values to Promote Medication Adherence: A Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing Affective and Behavioral Responses to Theory-Driven Domain Congruent Versus Incongruent Values Approaches.

Background: Self-affirmation theory (SAT) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) embody competing approaches to leveraging personal values to motivate behavior change but are rarely compared in the domain of health behavior. This study compares these theory-driven values-based interventions for promoting medication adherence.

Purpose: To compare affective and behavioral responses to competing values-based medication adherence interventions.

A Novel Intervention to Reduce Fear of Progression and Trauma Symptoms in Advanced Cancer Using Written Exposure to Worst-Case Scenarios.

Adults with advanced cancer experience profound future uncertainty, reflected in elevated fear of cancer progression (FoP) and cancer-related trauma symptoms. These symptoms are associated with physical symptom burden and poorer quality of life, and few interventions exist to manage them. To develop and pilot a written exposure-based coping intervention (EASE) focused on worst-case scenarios among adults with advanced cancer reporting elevated cancer-related trauma symptoms or FoP.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Processes and Mediation: Challenges and How to Address Them.

Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) emphasizes a focus on theory-driven processes and mediating variables, a laudable approach. The implementation of this approach would be advanced by addressing five challenges, including (a) distinguishing ACT processes in measurement contexts, (b) developing and rigorously validating measures of ACT processes, (c) the wide use of psychometrically weaker ACT process measures and the more limited use of stronger measures in earlier work, (d) the inconsistency of past evidence that ACT processes are sensitive or specific to ACT or mediate ACT outcomes specifically, and (e) improving statistical power and transparency. Drawing on the existing literature, we characterize and provide evidence for each of these challenges.

Anxiety and Depression in Metastatic Cancer: A Critical Review of Negative Impacts on Advance Care Planning and End-of-Life Decision Making With Practical Recommendations.

Purpose: Providers treating adults with advanced cancer increasingly seek to engage patients and surrogates in advance care planning (ACP) and end-of-life (EOL) decision making; however, anxiety and depression may interfere with engagement. The intersection of these two key phenomena is examined among patients with metastatic cancer and their surrogates: the need to prepare for and engage in ACP and EOL decision making and the high prevalence of anxiety and depression.

Methods: Using a critical review framework, we examine the specific ways that anxiety and depression are likely to affect both ACP and EOL decision making.

A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Interventions to Promote Adjuvant Endocrine Therapy Adherence Among Breast Cancer Survivors.

Purpose: Adjuvant endocrine therapy (AET) adherence among breast cancer survivors is often suboptimal, leading to higher cancer recurrence and mortality. Intervention studies to promote AET adherence have burgeoned, more than doubling in number since this literature was last reviewed. The current aim is to provide an up-to-date systematic review and meta-analysis of interventions to enhance AET adherence and to identify strengths and limitations of existing interventions to inform future research and clinical care.

Anxiety trajectories among cancer survivors during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Purpose: To describe trajectories of general and bodily vigilance anxiety among cancer survivors during COVID-19 and examine associated factors.

Design: Longitudinal survey study (May-December 2020).

Sample: Colorado-based cancer survivors ( = 147).

Cancer survivors' cancellations of healthcare appointments during the COVID-19 pandemic: Associations with anxiety and depression.

Objective: Though it is well-documented that cancer survivors experienced healthcare delays during the COVID-19 pandemic, who initiated those delays has not been examined. This longitudinal study distinguishes rates of patient-from provider-cancelled healthcare appointments at three timepoints during the pandemic, and examines psychosocial factors associated with patient-cancelled appointments.

Methods: Cancer survivors (N = 147) in the United States completed psychosocial and health behavior measures three times between May and December 2020.

Disruption of Sleep Continuity During the Perimenopause: Associations with Female Reproductive Hormone Profiles.

Context: Nocturnal vasomotor symptoms (nVMS), depressive symptoms (DepSx), and female reproductive hormone changes contribute to perimenopause-associated disruption in sleep continuity. Hormonal changes underlie both nVMS and DepSx. However, their association with sleep continuity parameters resulting in perimenopause-associated sleep disruption remains unclear.