title: The Neurobiological Basis of the Distress Thermometer: A PET Study in Cancer Patients.
abstract: The objective of this study was to investigate the possible associations between the Distress Thermometer (DT) scores and the brain metabolism of structures involved in stress response. Twenty-one cancer patients were assessed using the DT, Problem Checklist and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). The psychological measures were correlated with [18 F]PET-FDG brain glucose metabolism. Multiple and linear regression and binary logistic regression were run to analyse data. The DT and HADS scores illustrated that 48% of patients were distressed, 19% were depressed and 48% were anxious. Results showed that some subcortical areas activity, such as part of midbrain and of hypothalamus, was correlated with the DT scores. The Problem Checklist scores correlated with the activity of the same areas and included more regions in the limbic forebrain and brainstem. Compared with the DT and Problem Checklist, HADS-Depression scores showed a more extensive pattern of correlation with brain activity, including limbic and cortical areas. The results highlighted that the DT scores correlated with the activity of brain areas typically involved in stress response. Indeed, hypothalamus metabolism was found to be the best predictor of distressed patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy.|Clinical Psychology and Psycho-oncology Unit, Città della Salute e della Scienza, Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Castelli
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tonello
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin, Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: D'Agata
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin, Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Caroppo
authors.affiliation: Nuclear Medicine, AOU San Giovanni Battista, Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Baudino
authors.affiliation: Nuclear Medicine, AOU San Giovanni Battista, Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zotta
authors.affiliation: Nuclear Medicine, AOU San Giovanni Battista, Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cauda
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin, Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pinessi
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin, Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mortara
authors.affiliation: Section of Psychiatry, Department of Biomedical and Specialty Surgical Sciences, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Grassi
authors.affiliation: Nuclear Medicine, AOU San Giovanni Battista, Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bisi
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin, Turin, Italy.|Clinical Psychology and Psycho-oncology Unit, Città della Salute e della Scienza, Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Torta
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005260:Female; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology*; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography / Q000379:methods; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18
keywords: [18 F]FDG PET; brain metabolism; cancer; depression; distress thermometer