A prospective study of stress, anxiety and depression response to undergoing genetic assessment at the time of ovarian cancer diagnosis.

Abstract

e13024 Background: Genetic assessment (GA) is recommended for all women with ovarian cancer however little is known about the psychological implications of this intervention. We sought to evaluate the psychological response to GA in newly diagnosed ovarian cancer patients as part of our facilitated genetics referral pathway. Methods: English-speaking patients with ovarian cancer undergoing GA at the time of cancer diagnosis completed three validated anxiety, stress and depression survey instruments immediately prior to and following GA and again 6-9 months after GA. Results: Forty-eight English-speaking patients underwent GA; 43 (90%) completed the pre-GA survey, 32 (67%) post-GA survey and 11 (23%) 6-9 months follow-up survey. Eight patients (17%) had documented psychiatric diagnoses (5 anxiety, 2 depression, 1 anxiety+depression) prior to cancer diagnosis. Overall, patients demonstrated mild to moderate stress, clinically significant anxiety and borderline depression (Table 1). There was no change in depression, anxiety or stress scores when comparing pre- to post-GA surveys. Age, stage, method of treatment, performance status at enrollment and history of psychiatric disorders were not associated with anxiety, stress or depression. Conclusions: A genetic testing pathway whereby GA is encouraged and facilitated at the time of diagnosis has not increased patient depression, anxiety or stress in our cohort. Concern about causing additional emotional distress should not deter clinicians from early genetics referral. [Table: see text]