The effectiveness of meaning-based existential group therapy on serum interferon-gamma levels and depression in women with breast cancer

Cancer is one of the most common causes of death in the world and as a stressful experience it can cause many psychological, social and biological problems. The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of meaning-based existential psychotherapy on depression and serum levels of cytokine interferon gamma in women with breast cancer.

For this purpose, in a quasi-experimental clinical trial, 24 patients with breast cancer from Ayatollah Khansari Hospital in Arak were selected by purposive sampling and randomly divided into experimental and control groups. The experimental group underwent meaning-based existential intervention for 10 sessions and the control group did not receive any intervention. Serum interferon gamma and depression levels were measured in both groups before, after, and three months after the last intervention.

The results of multivariate analysis of variance showed that meaning-based existential therapy had a significant effect on reducing depression and interferon-gamma levels, and this efficacy was relatively stable over time (P <0.05).

Based on the results of this study, in the case of cancer patients, health professionals can use meaning-based existential psychotherapy to improve depression and their immune system.