Depression and anxiety in colorectal cancer patients.
BACKGROUND
Cancer has been seen negatively by the people that disclose fear and anxiety face to the disease closely associated with distress, aggressive treatments, and death. Colorectal cancer is one of the most prevalent cancer and few assays were developed studying depression and anxiety in patients after surgical resection of tumor and before adjuvant therapy.


OBJECTIVE
This research aims to study the prevalence of depression and anxiety in patients with colorectal cancer before and after adjuvant chemotherapy.


METHODS
After surgical resection of colorectal cancer, 37 patients were included according to the kind of treatment: chemotherapy group (CHG) and the other one without indication of chemotherapy, the control group (CG). Questionnaires of Depression and Anxiety were done at the beginning and at the end of the treatment in the CHG (n = 19) and at the first and after 6 months of follow-up (n = 18) in the CG.


RESULTS
No difference on gender, age, or site was observed among the groups. Stage III tumor was more frequent in the CHG group. Mild or moderate depression was diagnosed in 31.6% of the CHG patients in the first evaluation and in 38.6% at the second one. In the CG no depression was observed in both evaluations. About the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the results were similar before and after chemotherapy treatment. There was a higher number of patients with moderate state or trait anxiety in the CHG when compared to the CG in both evaluations. No correlation was found about the inventories of anxiety and depression and site of tumor or stage.


CONCLUSIONS
After surgical treatment of colorectal cancer, depression and indexes of anxiety were higher in the group of patients treated with chemotherapy when compared to the control group.
Medeiros
Marta
M
Oncology Division, Gastroenterology Department, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
Oshima
Celina Tizuko Fujiyama
CT
Forones
Nora Manoukian
NM
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001007:Anxiety / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant / Q000523:psychology; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology / Q000523:psychology*; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D013505:Digestive System Surgical Procedures; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D015995:Prevalence