Colon cancer: personality factors predictive of onset and stage of presentation.
This study examined premorbid personality correlates of colon cancer and stage of presentation of colon cancer to health care providers. Sixty-one male veterans who completed the MMPI between 1947 and 1975 and were then diagnosed with colon cancer between 1977 and 1988 were matched with control patients. A 21-factor solution of the MMPI [1] was used to seek potential personality differences between colon cancer cases and their controls in terms of presence of colon cancer and stage of presentation for this disease. A stepwise conditional regression analysis found significant differences between the colon cancer and control groups on the Aggressive Hostility variable (p < 0.018). A multivariate analysis of variance conducted across the stages of colon cancer presentation found that patients who presented later on for colon cancer had higher Phobia scores (p < 0.05). Religious Fundamentalism was also related to presentation (p < 0.05), but in a nonlinear manner. Discussion is related to previous findings regarding the relationship between personality and development of cancer, as well as to implications for patient screening.
Kavan
M G
MG
Department of Family Practice, Creighton University School of Medicine, Omaha, Nebraska, 68124, USA.
Engdahl
B E
BE
Kay
S
S
D003106:Colon / Q000473:pathology; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010551:Personality; D010552:Personality Assessment; D011446:Prospective Studies