A prospective Japanese study of the association between personality and the progression of lung cancer.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To examine predictive values for the effect of the "Type 1" (hopeless and emotion-suppressive, cancer prone), "Type 4" (autonomous, healthy), and "Type 5" (rational/antiemotional, cancer prone) personalities proposed by Grossarth-Maticek on the prognosis of lung cancer patients. METHODS: 68 lung cancer patients were scored on the Types 1, 4, and 5 personality scales of the Short Interpersonal Reactions Inventory and were followed until the date of death or were censored at a maximum of 5.7 years after entry. RESULTS: The stage at diagnosis tended to be higher in patients with a high Type 1 or a low Type 4 score. A univariate Cox proportional hazards model showed that a high tendency toward Type 1 or Type 5 was related to an increased hazard of death. Adjustment for age, performance status, and stage, however, attenuated the relation to Type 1, leaving only Type 5 as a significantly related personality factor. CONCLUSION: A high Type 5 tendency may predict poor survival in lung cancer patients, whereas Types 1 and 4 may not be independent predictors.