psychooncology

Cancer and the various medical treatments and tests are a major physical and psychological challenge for patients, their relatives and for the medical staff as well. Adherence and compliance become critical factors during prolonged oncological therapies. The mental health of people with malignant cancer, untreated psychological symptoms can affect survival by increasing distress and suffering, weakening quality of life and reducing adherence. Furthermore, they have a particularly high comorbidity with psychiatric disorders...

Objectives: Quality of life (QoL) has been the focus of increasing interest in oncology. QoL assessment instruments implicitly assume that each QoL domain has the same meaning for each patient. The objective of this study was to analyze the importance of and the satisfaction with QoL domains and to analyze the relationship between the two. Methods: A sample of 308 breast cancer survivors was examined twice with a three-month time interval. The women completed the two QoL questionnaires Questions of Life Satisfaction (FLZ-M), which measures participants' satisfaction with eight QoL domains and the subjective importance of those domains to them, and the EORTC QLQ-C30...

BACKGROUND: The basis for adequate psycho-oncological care is the identification of patients with psychosocial support needs. The German Working Group for Psychooncology also recommends the Hornheider Screening Instrument (HSI) for this purpose. The question, "Is anyone in your family particularly burdened by the hospital stay?" is intended to capture disease-related family stress. But is this item equally suitable for outpatients and inpatients? The study objective was to examine how replacing the original item affects the test performance of this modified version of the HSI and the frequency of psychosocial stress...

This review assessed population-based estimate rates of cancer patients with minor and young adult children (≤ 25 years), children and young adults having a parent with cancer as well as the psychosocial situation and well-being of children and young adults affected by parental cancer. Eighteen publications on population-based studies were included. Studies varied in the age ranges of both cancer patients and children. The prevalence rates of cancer patients having children ranged from 14 to 24.7% depending on the sample structure (e...

The article presents an organizational structure for the psycho-oncological treatment of cancer patients that is unique in Germany, in which professional therapeutic support is provided by practioners from a wide range of professions "under one roof".In addition, from the perspective of a psychooncologist, the intra-psychic processes that cancer patients can go through during their illness are described, as well as their psychooncological-psychotherapeutic treatment. The presentation is based on two case studies and a specific psychological-psychotherapeutic classification...

BACKGROUND: Disparity in mental health care among cancer patients remains understudied. METHODS: A large, retrospective, single tertiary-care institution cohort study was conducted based on deidentified electronic health record data of 54,852 adult cancer patients without prior mental health diagnosis (MHD) diagnosed at the University of California, San Francisco between January 2012 and September 2019. The exposure of interest was early-onset MHD with or without psychotropic medication (PM) within 12 months of cancer diagnosis and primary outcome was all-cause mortality...

BACKGROUND/AIM: Radiotherapy and radiochemotherapy are common treatments for rectal and anal cancer. Anticipation of treatment may cause distress and sleep disorders. This study aimed to identify risk factors for sleep disorders. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In 42 patients with rectal or anal cancer scheduled for radiotherapy, 16 characteristics were analyzed for associations with pre-radiotherapy sleep disorders including age, gender, performance score, comorbidity, patient's or family history of additional cancer/melanoma, distress score, emotional/physical/practical problems, tumor site and stage, surgery and relation to COVID-19 pandemic...

BACKGROUND: Randomised controlled trials, and in particular those of psychosocial interventions, often fail to recruit to target, resulting in underpowered trials with poor generalisability of findings. The objectives of this study were to explore the views of healthcare professionals on recruiting to psychosocial research studies, and to explore their views on factors that may hinder or facilitate recruitment. METHODS: We conducted 14 semi-structured interviews, with healthcare professionals who had been involved in recruitment into a randomised controlled trial of a talking therapy for depression in patients with advanced cancer...

Background: Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. It is associated with several disease-related impairments contributing to the psycho-social burden of those patients, such as deterioration of well-being and overall quality of life (QOL). The aim of this study is to present the wide range of factors potentially impacting patients' overall well-being and possible preventive interventions. Methods: This systematic review was conducted in October 2020 with a search in the PubMed, MedLine, PsycInfo, and Google Scholar databases...

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BACKGROUND: Patients diagnosed with low-grade glioma (LGG) must live with constant knowledge of an upcoming malignant tumor transformation which may lead to increased anxiety and reduced quality of life. Here, we (1) analyzed the prevalence and risk factors for distress in LGG patients using (2) different screening tools to subsequently (3) evaluate their need for psychological support. METHOD: Patients with LGG-suspicious findings in MRI studies as well as patients with histopathological confirmed LGG were screened using three established self-assessment instruments (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Distress Thermometer, EORTC-QLQ-C30-BN20)...

OBJECTIVES: Research on the needs of family caregivers of people living with cancer remains disproportionately focused in high income contexts. This research gap adds to the critical challenge on global equitable delivery of cancer care. This study describes the roles of family caregivers of people living with cancer in Vietnam and possible implications for intervention development. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews and focus groups with family caregivers (n = 20) and health care providers (n = 22) were conducted in two national oncology hospitals...

BACKGROUND: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) provide effective treatment options for advanced melanoma patients. However, they are associated with high rates of immune-related side effects. There are no data on the distress of melanoma patients during their ICI treatment. We, therefore, conducted a prospective longitudinal study to assess distress and the need for psycho-oncological support in these patients. METHODS: Questionnaires were completed before initiation of ICI (T0), after 6-8 weeks (T1), and after 12-14 weeks (T2)...

AIM: The purpose of this systematic review was to determine the effectiveness of self-management interventions for older adults with cancer and to determine the effective components of said interventions. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review of self-management interventions for older adults (65+) with cancer guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis statement. We conducted an exhaustive search of the following databases: Ageline, AMED, ASSIA, CINAHL, Cochrane, Embase, Medline, PsychINFO, and Sociological Abstracts...

Psycho-oncological care in private practices: a survey among psychotherapists with and without licence for reimbursement with public health insurance Objective: This study examined how certified psychotherapist working in an outpatient setting organise their practice to be able to treat cancer patients and what specific problems they encounter. We differentiated between therapists with and without licence. Methods: Out of the list of psychotherapists held by the German Cancer Information Service, a random sample of practices was selected...

Follow-up includes the permanent contact with and health education of the patient, the surveillance and control of the adverse effects of surgery, oncological therapies or radiotherapy, the screening of metachronous cancers, and the comprehensive (physical, psychological and social) rehabilitation of the patient which may be enhanced by healthy life-style. The early detection and curative management if necessary, of local/regional tumor relapse is still a priority but the routine screening of distant metastases by means of imaging studies or tumor marker tests is not justified...

The diagnosis of intracranial meningiomas as incidental findings is increasing by growing availability of MRI diagnostics. However, the psychological distress of patients with incidental meningiomas under a wait-and-watch strategy is unknown. Therefore, we aimed to compare the psychosocial situation of meningioma patients under wait-and-watch to patients after complete resection to bridge this gap. The inclusion criteria for the prospective monocenter study were either an incidental meningioma under a wait-and-watch strategy or no neurologic deficits after complete resection...

Objective: Attachment anxiety and avoidance are known risk factors for the development of unmet needs and poor well-being among patients with chronic diseases. Few studies have addressed this in individuals with cancer. We aimed to explore the relationship between supportive care needs, attachment styles and distress in women with breast and gynecological cancer. Methods: Using a cross-sectional paper-pencil ( n = 157) and online survey ( n = 614), a total of 771 patients with breast or gynecological cancer completed a set of validated questionnaires...

BACKGROUND: The prognosis of patients with brain tumors is widely varying. Psychooncologic need and depression are high among these patients and their family caregivers. However, the need for counselling and need for referral to psychooncology care is often underestimated. METHODS: We performed a single-institution cross-sectional study to evaluate psychooncologic need, depression and information need in both patients and their family caregivers. The Hornheider Screening Instrument (HSI) and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) were used to evaluate psychooncologic need and depression, and a study-specific questionnaire was developed to evaluate information need...

INTRODUCTION: Depression symptoms, frequently diagnosed in older patients with cancer, impacts on oncological treatment feasibility. The Francophone Society of Geriatric Oncology (SOFOG) has initiated a systematic review on depression treatment in older patients with cancer, to advocate guidelines. DATA SOURCES: Medline via PubMed, Embase, CENTRAL. METHODS: We included randomized and non-randomized controlled trials, reviews and meta-analysis, retrospective and prospective cohort studies, qualitative studies, and guidelines published between January 2013 and December 2018 that involved depression with cancer in which the entire sample or a sub-group aged 65 and above...