One in two cancer patients is significantly distressed: Prevalence and indicators of distress.

OBJECTIVE: Psychological distress is common in cancer patients, and awareness of its indicators is essential. We aimed to assess the prevalence of psychological distress and to identify problems indicative of high distress. METHODS: We used the distress thermometer (DT) and its 34-item problem list to measure psychological distress in 3724 cancer patients (mean age 58 years; 57% women) across major tumor entities, enrolled in an epidemiological multicenter study. To identify distress-related problems, we conducted monothetic analyses. RESULTS: We found high levels of psychological distress (DT ≥ 5) in 52% of patients. The most prevalent problems were fatigue (56%), sleep problems (51%), and problems getting around (47%). Sadness, fatigue, and sleep problems were most strongly associated with the presence of other problems. High distress was present in 81.4% of patients reporting all 3 of these problems (DT M = 6.4). When analyzing only the subset of physical problems, fatigue, problems getting around, and indigestion showed the strongest association with the remaining problems and 76.3% of patients with all 3 problems were highly distressed (DT M = 6.1). CONCLUSIONS: Our results show a high prevalence of psychological distress in cancer patients, as well as a set of problems that indicate the likely presence of other problems and high distress and can help clinicians identify distressed patients even if no routine distress screening is available.

Predictors of early retirement after cancer rehabilitation-a longitudinal study.

This longitudinal study was designed to assess patients' desire for early retirement and investigate which cancer-related and psychosocial characteristics are associated with early retirement. We assessed 750 cancer patients at the beginning (t0 ) and end (t1 ) of, and 12 months after (t2 ) inpatient cancer rehabilitation. At t0 , 22% had a desire to retire early. These patients reported significantly longer sick leave periods, less favourable workplace environments, lower work ability, higher psychological distress and lower quality of life than other patients. At t2 , 12.5% of patients received temporary or permanent early retirement pensions. Of all patients with a desire for early retirement at t0 , 43% had returned to work at t2 . This subgroup had a significantly lower physical quality of life than other patients returning to work. The most influential predictors of early retirement were being on sick leave (OR = 6.50, 95% CI = 1.97-21.47) and a desire for early retirement (OR = 5.61, 95% CI = 2.73-11.52). Inverse predictors of early retirement were cancer remission (OR = 0.23, 95% CI = 0.10-0.53), perceived productivity (OR = 0.38, 95% CI = 0.18-0.83), work satisfaction (OR = 0.36, 95% CI = 0.17-0.77) and mental quality of life (OR = 0.94, 95% CI = 0.91-0.98). This underlines the need for cancer-specific multi-professional rehabilitation and occupational therapy programmes.

The risk of being depressed is significantly higher in cancer patients than in the general population: Prevalence and severity of depressive symptoms across major cancer types.

BACKGROUND: Depression is a common co-morbidity of cancer that has a detrimental effect on quality of life, treatment adherence and potentially survival. We conducted an epidemiological multi-center study including a population-based random comparison sample and estimated the prevalence of depressive symptoms by cancer site, thereby identifying cancer patients with the highest prevalence of depression. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We included 4020 adult cancer inpatients and outpatients from five distinct regions across Germany in a proportional stratified random sample based on the nationwide cancer incidence and a comparison group consisting of 5018 participants. Both groups reported depressive symptoms by filling in the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). In multivariate analyses adjusted for age and sex, we calculated the odds of being depressed. RESULTS: Out of 5818 eligible patients, 69% participated (51% women, mean age = 58 years). We estimated that one in four cancer patients (24%) is depressed (PHQ-9 ≥ 10). The odds of being depressed among cancer patients were more than five times higher than in the general population (OR, 5.4; 95% CI, 4.6-6.2). Patients with pancreatic (M = 8.0, SD = 5.0), thyroid (M = 7.8, SD = 6.3) and brain tumours (M = 7.6, SD = 4.9) showed the highest prevalence, whereas patients with prostate cancer (M = 4.3, SD = 3.8) and malignant melanoma (M = 5.3, SD = 4.3) had the lowest levels of depressive symptoms. CONCLUSION: Our results help clinicians identify cancer patients in need of psychosocial support when navigating in the growing survivor population.

[Health services research in psycho-oncology]. / Psychoonkologische Versorgungsforschung.

Given the increasing incidence of cancer and improved diagnostics and cancer treatments, the number of cancer patients in industrialized nations is increasing worldwide. Multimodal treatment regimens, which contribute to a tumor-free survival or extend patients life expectancy can, however, alone or in combination increase the risk of physical and psychosocial long-term problems or late complications. For many patients cancer has become a chronic disease and is associated with significant physical and psychosocial problems that affect the quality of life in the medium and longer-term perspective. Common problems of cancer patients in the longer course of the disease include chronic and post-cancer pain, cancer-specific fatigue, psychosocial distress and impairment in self-management and activities of daily living, work participation and quality of life. Current developments with respect to both curative and palliative oncological care have various implications for health services research in psycho-oncology. These questions relate to issues of care needs, service provision and the appropriateness of care, issues of development, implementation and scientific evaluation of patient-centered and affordable support programs for different groups of cancer patients with different supportive care needs, issues of access and utilization of supportive care services, as well as questions of appropriate outcome criteria of health services research.