This research identifies which factors may be especially salient to the patient's perception of distress and help guide clinicians in developing targeted screening strategies and specific interventions based on patient response to the DT. It also points to the need for future research to more clearly characterize distress from the patient perspective and determine when interventions may be indicated.

A significant percentage (57%) of these women experienced distress at levels that indicate further evaluation is indicated. This study suggests that early screening and evaluation are essential in this group of cancer patients.

Objectives Changes in cognitive function have been identified in and reported by many cancer survivors. These changes have the potential to impact patient quality of life and functional ability. This prospective longitudinal study was designed to quantify the incidence of change in cognitive function in newly diagnosed ovarian cancer patients throughout and following primary chemotherapy. Methods Eligible patients had newly diagnosed, untreated ovarian cancer and had planned to receive chemotherapy. Web-based and patient reported cognitive assessments and quality of life questionnaires were conducted prior to chemotherapy, prior to cycle four, after cycle six, and six months after completion of primary therapy. Results Two-hundred-thirty-one evaluable patients entered this study between May 2010 and October 2011. At the cycle 4 time point, 25.2% (55/218) of patients exhibited cognitive impairment in at least one domain. At the post-cycle 6 and 6-month follow up time points, 21.1% (44/208) and 17.8% (30/169) of patients, respectively, demonstrated impairment in at least one domain of cognitive function. There were statistically significant, but clinically small, improvements in processing speed (p < 0.001) and attention (p < 0.001) but not in motor response time (p = 0.066), from baseline through the six-month follow up time period. Conclusions This was a large, prospective study designed to measure cognitive function in ovarian cancer. A subset of patients had evidence of cognitive decline from baseline during chemotherapy treatment in this study as measured by the web-based assessment; however, changes were generally limited to no more than one domain.