Correction to: Validation of the German version of the late adolescence and young adulthood survivorship-related quality of life measure (LAYA-SRQL).

ERRATUM: The original article contained the following errors.

Cancer-related fatigue in adolescents and young adults: A systematic review of the literature.

Adolescents and young adults with cancer (AYA) represent a specific age cohort dealing with the disease in a stage of life characterized by development, upheavals, and establishment. The aim of this study was to point out the state of research on how AYA are affected by cancer-related fatigue (CRF). RESULTS: Twelve articles were included. CRF was found to be higher in AYA than in either of the comparison groups, healthy peers and older cancer patients. Most included studies did not measure CRF with multidimensional, fatigue-specific instruments. CONCLUSION: We found a gap in research concerning CRF in AYA. The existing findings suggest that CRF is a significant issue for AYA cancer patients. However, less is known about the prevalence, severity, and impact of CRF in AYA, and their treatment. This should be considered in future research, and risk and prevention factors should be ascertained. Multidimensional and fatigue-specific measuring tools should be used to do this.

Efficacy of short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy (STPP) with depressed breast cancer patients: results of a randomized controlled multicenter trial.

BACKGROUND: There is a lack of trials of psychodynamic treatments of depression in breast cancer patients. The purpose of this trial was to determine the efficacy of short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy (STPP) in non-metastatic breast cancer patients diagnosed with depression, one of the most frequent mental comorbidities of breast cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In a multicenter prospective trial, 157 breast cancer patients with comorbid depression were randomized to either individual STPP (intervention group, N=78) or 'treatment as usual' (control group, TAU, N=79). As our primary outcome measure, we hypothesized a higher rate of remission defined as no diagnosis of depression (Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV) and reduction in depression score by at least 2 points (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, HADS-D) in STPP versus TAU at treatment termination. Secondary outcomes mainly refer to quality of life (QoL). RESULTS: In the intention to treat (ITT) analysis, 44% of the STPP group achieved highly significantly more remission than TAU (23%). STPP treatment (OR=7.64; P<0.001) was the strongest predictor for remission post-treatment; time was also significant (OR=0.96; P<0.05). A high effect favoring STPP (d=0.82) was observed for the HADS-D score post-treatment (secondary outcome). Regarding further secondary outcomes (QoL), analyses of covariance yielded main effects for group (favoring STPP with an effect size of at least d=0.5) for global QoL, role, emotional and social functioning, pain, treatment side-effects, breast symptoms and upset by hair loss. CONCLUSIONS: STPP is an effective treatment of a broad range of depressive conditions in breast cancer patients improving depression and functional QoL. Findings are limited by the drop-out rate (∼1/3) and delayed post-treatment assessments. Future trials may consider stepped-care approaches, tailored to patients' needs and requirements in the acute treatment phase.

Children and Employment - Resource or Stressors after Breast Cancer?

Introduction: Breast cancer patients suffer clinically relevant levels of psychological stress because of their disease. Various factors can affect the level of stress experienced. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the level of psychological stress and employment and children, including time since diagnosis. Material and Methods: A randomised clinical study was done of 724 breast cancer patients aged between 18 and 65 years; all were in the curative stage of disease and had been diagnosed 0-12 months previously. Patients were investigated for their levels of psychological stress (anxiety and depression) using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). The relationship between anxiety and depression and the variables "employment", "parenthood" and "time since diagnosis" were investigated, using univariate and multivariate analysis. Results: Patients with a longer time since diagnosis (4-12 months) were found to have lower levels of anxiety (6.28) compared to patients who had been diagnosed only 0-3 months previously (7.24; p < 0.01). There was no unambiguous relation between parenthood and anxiety. The age of the children was crucial. Even when results were controlled for patient age, the anxiety levels of women with children below the age of 16 years were significantly higher (7.84) compared to patients without children (6.42) or patients whose children were older than 16 years (6.87; p = 0.04). Women who were not employed had significantly higher levels of depression compared to all other participants in the study (p = 0.02). No reciprocal effects were found between investigated variables. Conclusion: We found a differentiated relationship between the variables "time since diagnosis", "employment" and "children" and the level of psychological stress experienced by breast cancer patients. When determining the level of psychological stress in the 1st year after diagnosis, particular attention should be paid to patients who are not employed and patients with children below the age of 16 years.