88. Psychological resilience is associated with markers of inflammation and angiogenesis in pre-surgical ovarian cancer patients

Abstract

Although psychological distress has been linked to biological processes that may promote ovarian cancer, little is known about the role that psychological resilience plays in this context. To address this issue, we examined how scores on a multi-faceted index of psychological resilience related to biomarkers of inflammation (interleukin-6; IL-6) and angiogenesis (vascular endothelial growth factor; VEGF) in a sample of 200 ovarian cancer patients assessed prior to diagnostic surgery. Using confirmatory factor analysis, a psychological resilience factor with the best fit was determined (Chi-square = 7.28, p = .20; RMSEA = 0.05; CFI = 0.99; TLI = 0.98). Factors included in the measurement model as indicators of resilience include psychological well-being (Psychological Well-Being Scales), positive affect (CESD-D positive affect subscale), and the spiritual, emotional, and functional well-being subscales of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy scale. This psychological resilience index was then used in a structural equation model with IL-6 and VEGF regressed on the latent variable, controlling for cancer stage and grade, age, BMI, and fatigue. Greater psychological resilience was significantly associated with lower levels of IL-6 (beta = −0.20, SE=.09, p = 0.026) but was unrelated to levels of VEGF (beta = −0.11, SE=.09, p = .241). This suggests that protective psychological factors may be linked to inflammatory biology in ovarian cancer. Additional research is needed to examine how psychological risk and resilience factors interact to predict clinical outcomes in ovarian cancer patients.