Psychological distress and cancer survival: a follow-up 10 years after diagnosis.
OBJECTIVE
This study tested the predictive role of psychological distress in cancer survival, while attempting to overcome several important methodological and statistical limitations that have clouded the issue.


METHODS
Measures collected on a range of emotional and cognitive factors in the early postdiagnostic period and at 4-month intervals up to 15 months after diagnosis were used to predict survival time up to 10 years among 205 cancer patients heterogeneous in disease site, status, and progression.


RESULTS
With the use of both baseline and repeated measures, depressive symptomology was the most consistent psychological predictor of shortened survival time, after controlling for several known demographic and medical risk factors.


CONCLUSIONS
Given the importance of depressive symptoms to cancer survival, discussion focuses on the possible mechanisms mediating this relationship, the importance of psychological screening of cancer patients, and need for further research.
Brown
Kirk W
KW
Department of Clinical and Social Sciences in Psychology, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627-0266, USA. kirk@prodigal.psych.rochester.edu
Levy
Adrian R
AR
Rosberger
Zeev
Z
Edgar
Linda
L
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000523:psychology*; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016019:Survival Analysis; D013997:Time Factors