Spiritual well-being, distress and quality of life in Hispanic women diagnosed with cancer undergoing treatment with chemotherapy.

Objective: Previous studies have examined whether spiritual well-being is associated with cancer outcomes, but minority populations are under-represented. This study examines associations of baseline spiritual well-being and change in spiritual well-being with change in distress and quality of life, and explores potential factors associated with changes in spiritual well-being among Hispanic women undergoing chemotherapy.

Methods: Participants completed measures examining spiritual well-being, distress, and quality of life prior to beginning chemotherapy and at weeks 7 and 13.

A Comprehensive Resiliency Framework: Theoretical Model, Treatment, and Evaluation.

Background: There is heterogeneity in conceptualizations of resiliency, and there is, to date, no established theoretically driven resiliency assessment measure that aligns with a targeted resiliency intervention. We operationalize resiliency as one's ability to maintain adaptive functioning in response to the ongoing, chronic stress of daily living, and we use a novel resiliency measure that assesses the target components of an evidence based resiliency intervention. We present our resiliency theory, treatment model, and corresponding assessment measure (Current Experience Scale; CES).

Evaluation of the Psychometric and Structural Properties of the Spanish Version of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale in Latina Cancer Patients.

Context: The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) is a brief self-report measure commonly used to screen for symptoms of anxiety and depression in cancer patients. The HADS has demonstrated validity in over 100 languages, including Spanish. However, validation studies have largely used European Spanish-speaking samples with a variety of medical diagnoses.

Differential psychological effects of cognitive-behavioral stress management among breast cancer patients with high and low initial cancer-specific distress.

Objective: Cognitive-behavioral stress management (CBSM) improves adaptation to primary treatment for breast cancer (BCa), evidenced as reductions in distress and increases in positive affect. Because not all BCa patients may need psychosocial intervention, identifying those most likely to benefit is important. A secondary analysis of a previous randomized trial tested whether baseline level of cancer-specific distress moderated CBSM effects on adaptation over 12 months.

Efficacy of a Spanish-Language Self-Administered Stress Management Training intervention for Latinas undergoing chemotherapy.

Background: Cancer patients often report increased stress during chemotherapy. Stress management training has been shown to reduce this adverse outcome, but few interventions exist for Spanish-speaking Hispanic and Latina women (Latinas).

Methods: Following community feedback (including focus groups/in-depth interviews), we transcreated the Spanish-Language Self-Administered Stress Management Training (SL-SAT) intervention based on our previously developed and implemented English-based intervention.

Social well-being is associated with less pro-inflammatory and pro-metastatic leukocyte gene expression in women after surgery for breast cancer.

Purpose: Satisfaction with social resources, or "social well-being," relates to better adaptation and longer survival after breast cancer diagnosis. Biobehavioral mechanisms linking social well-being (SWB) to mental and physical health may involve inflammatory signaling. We tested whether reports of greater SWB were associated with lower levels of pro-inflammatory and pro-metastatic leukocyte gene expression after surgery for non-metastatic breast cancer.

Anxiety and depression in Spanish-speaking Latina cancer patients prior to starting chemotherapy.

Objective: Anxiety and depression can substantially impact the life of a cancer patient, but literature on emotional distress in the Hispanic cancer population is sparse. Additionally, the influence of psychosocial variables including age, acculturation, and spiritual well-being on emotional distress in this population remains unclear. The purpose of the present report was to assess the prevalence of anxiety and depression in Spanish-speaking Latina cancer patients preparing to begin chemotherapy and to explore the predictors and correlates of these outcomes.

Metformin improves in vivo and in vitro B cell function in individuals with obesity and Type-2 Diabetes.

Metformin (MET), the first-line medication for Type-2 Diabetes (T2D), has been shown to reduce chronic inflammation indirectly through reduction of hyperglycemia, or directly acting as anti-inflammatory drug. The effects of MET on B lymphocytes is uncharacterized. In the present study, we measured in vivo and in vitro influenza vaccine responses in 2 groups of T2D patients: recently diagnosed but not taking anti-diabetic drugs, and patients taking MET.

Post-surgical depressive symptoms and long-term survival in non-metastatic breast cancer patients at 11-year follow-up.

Background: Mild to moderate depressive symptoms are common during treatment for non-metastatic breast cancer. The goal of this secondary analysis was to determine if depressive symptoms predict clinical outcomes at long-term follow-up.

Methods: From 1998 to 2005, we interviewed 231 women with the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression who were participating in a psychosocial study 2-10weeks post-surgery for non-metastatic breast cancer (Stage 0-IIIb).

Stress management, leukocyte transcriptional changes and breast cancer recurrence in a randomized trial: An exploratory analysis.

Purpose: Cognitive behavioral stress management (CBSM) is an empirically-validated group-based psychosocial intervention. CBSM is related to decreased self-reported indicators of psychological adversity during breast cancer treatment and greater disease-free survival (DFS) vs. a control condition.

Physical activity in Black breast cancer survivors: implications for quality of life and mood at baseline and 6-month follow-up.

Background: The present study sought to examine the influence of physical activity on quality of life and negative mood in a sample of Black breast cancer survivors to determine if physical activity (dichotomized) predicted mean differences in negative mood and quality of life in this population.

Methods: Study participants include 114 women diagnosed with breast cancer (any stage of disease, any type of breast cancer) recruited to participate in an adaptive cognitive-behavioral stress management intervention. The mean body mass index of the sample at baseline was 31.

Acceptability of a Rinse Screening Test for Diagnosing Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma Among Black Americans.

Objective: Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a debilitating and deadly disease. We evaluated an easy-to-administer and innovative rinse that assays soluble CD44 and total protein as HNSCC early detection markers. We examined whether the rinse was acceptable and whether the results would promote screening behavior.

Obesity decreases B cell responses in young and elderly individuals.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of obesity-associated inflammation on influenza vaccine responses.

Methods: In young and elderly individuals, both lean and with obesity, antibody responses to influenza vaccination were measured.

Results: A decrease in in vivo vaccine responses, circulating switched memory, and transitional B cells and an increase in pro-inflammatory late/exhausted memory B cells were found.

Linguistic validation of the Spanish version of the National Cancer Institute's Patient-Reported Outcomes version of the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (PRO-CTCAE).

Purpose: The U.S. NCI's PRO-CTCAE is a library of self-report items for assessing symptomatic adverse events in cancer clinical trials from the patient perspective.

Postsurgical Depressive Symptoms and Proinflammatory Cytokine Elevations in Women Undergoing Primary Treatment for Breast Cancer.

Objective: Depression and inflammation may independently promote breast cancer (BCa) disease progression and poorer clinical outcomes. Depression has been associated with increased levels of inflammatory markers in medically healthy individuals and patients with cancer. However, inconsistencies in study time frames complicate interpretation of results within specific cancer types.

A randomized controlled trial of cognitive-behavioral stress management in breast cancer: survival and recurrence at 11-year follow-up.

Non-metastatic breast cancer patients often experience psychological distress which may influence disease progression and survival. Cognitive-behavioral stress management (CBSM) improves psychological adaptation and lowers distress during breast cancer treatment and long-term follow-ups. We examined whether breast cancer patients randomized to CBSM had improved survival and recurrence 8-15 years post-enrollment.

Ethnic differences in types of social support from multiple sources after breast cancer surgery.

Objectives: Diagnosis of and treatment for breast cancer (BCa) may require psychological adaptation and often involve heightened distress. Several types of social support positively relate to psychological adaptation to BCa, and negative support is associated with poorer adaptation. Although Hispanic women report greater distress than non-Hispanic White (NHW) women after diagnosis of BCa, no studies have examined ethnic differences in types of social support received from varying sources after surgery for BCa.

Perceived Fatigue Interference and Depressed Mood: Comparison of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis Patients with Fatigued Breast Cancer Survivors.

Objective: Persistent fatigue and depressive symptoms are both highly prevalent among patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) as well as breast cancer survivors. This study aimed to assess and directly compare perceptions of fatigue as highly interfering in one's daily functioning in both patient populations to better understand their relationships with depressed mood.

Methods: Participants were 95 female CFS/ME patients and 67 females who were approximately 5 years post-treatment for stage 0-III breast cancer presenting with clinically elevated fatigue severity.

Brief cognitive-behavioral and relaxation training interventions for breast cancer: A randomized controlled trial.

Objective: Women with breast cancer (BCa) report elevated distress postsurgery. Group-based cognitive-behavioral stress management (CBSM) following surgery improves psychological adaptation, though its key mechanisms remain speculative. This randomized controlled dismantling trial compared 2 interventions featuring elements thought to drive CBSM effects: a 5-week cognitive-behavioral training (CBT) and 5-week relaxation training (RT) versus a 5-week health education (HE) control group.

Long-term psychological benefits of cognitive-behavioral stress management for women with breast cancer: 11-year follow-up of a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Breast cancer survivors experience long-term physical and psychological sequelae after their primary treatment that negatively influence their quality of life (QOL) and increase depressive symptoms. Group-based cognitive-behavioral stress management (CBSM) delivered after surgery for early-stage breast cancer was previously associated with better QOL over a 12-month follow-up and with fewer depressive symptoms up to 5 years after study enrollment. This 8- to 15-year follow-up (median, 11 years) of a previously conducted trial (NCT01422551) evaluated whether women in this cohort receiving CBSM had fewer depressive symptoms and better QOL than controls at an 8- to 15-year follow-up.