Cancer survivorship researchers from the UC Irvine Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health found that young adult Latino testicular cancer survivors could better manage distress, pursue life goals, and regulate emotions following their cancer treatment after a psychological intervention: Goal-focused Emotion regulation Therapy (GET).

Testicular cancer disproportionately impacts young adult men. New cases of testicular cancer for Latino men have increased by nearly 60%, compared to the only 1% annual increases observed in non-Hispanic whites.

Testicular cancer’s lasting impact extends well beyond physical health, especially for young adult Latino survivors who experience heightened psychological distress and reduced quality of life according to past research.

Despite these challenges, Latino men remain underserved, especially Spanish-speaking monolinguals who encounter significant barriers in accessing supportive services.

To address these disparities, Michael Hoyt, Ph.D., chair and professor of population health and disease prevention at Wen Public Health, and his colleagues conducted a study to see whether their intervention known as Goal-focused Emotion regulation Therapy (GET) could help Latino survivors fare better following their clinical treatment.

Findings are published in the journal Supportive Care in Cancer.

“GET strives to empower survivors to reconnect with meaningful life goals by fostering self-regulation through navigating goals and teaching emotion-regulating coping skills,” said Hoyt who is also the director of the Institute for Interdisciplinary Salivary Bioscience Research. “Because GET is designed for young adults and involves goal navigation in a manner consistent with personal values, GET may feel more consonant with the experiences of Latino survivors.”

The study team evaluated the feasibility and tolerability of GET by initiating sessions with 35 Latino men who had undergone chemotherapy for testicular cancer. GET focuses on enhancing self-regulation through goal navigation, improving a sense of agency, and refining emotional response mechanisms.

The trial paid special attention to cultural unity, exploring the influence of simpatía—a Latino cultural value emphasizing positivity, harmony, and avoidance of conflict—and acculturative stress, which arises from navigating a marginalized identity in a predominantly non-Hispanic society. Participants scoring higher in this aspect experienced greater reductions in depression and more goal-setting and achievement.

This study is also the first to explore these cultural processes in this context, which suggests that simpatía-related traits may promote familial and community support, improve coping mechanisms, and enhance engagement with supportive care. However, acculturative stress emerged as a potential barrier and was linked to poorer outcomes, increased anxiety, and depression among participants.

“Our findings offer a blueprint for more culturally responsive and inclusive survivorship care tailored to one of the fastest-growing groups of testicular cancer survivors,” Hoyt added “Future research should measure additional cultural influences and values as potential intervention effects, and we hope our study encourages the inclusion of simpatía and acculturative stress in that consideration.”