Depressed patients with incurable cancer: Which depressive symptoms do they experience?

Abstract

Despair, anxiety, and social withdrawal are common symptoms in depressed patients with incurable cancer, and, therefore, hypothesized as candidate symptom criteria. Other symptom criteria might need adjustment for improvement of relevance in this group of patients.

Depression in advanced cancer – Assessment challenges and associations with disease load

“…Performance status and pain were consistently associated with depression, regardless of scoring-method used, and have previously been linked to depression in palliative care patients (e.g. Brenne et al, 2013;Rayner et al, 2011a). A possible bi-directional association between depression and pain and performance status has been demonstrated (Brenne et al, 2013;Spiegel et al, 1994).…”

“…Brenne et al, 2013;Rayner et al, 2011a). A possible bi-directional association between depression and pain and performance status has been demonstrated (Brenne et al, 2013;Spiegel et al, 1994). Given our crosssectional design, we cannot discern directions of these relationships.…”

Differential disgust responding in people with cancer and implications for psychological wellbeing

“…There is evidence that cancer, and other chronic physical illnesses, can become all-consuming (e.g., Gibson, et al, 2016;Shragge, Wismer, Olson, & Baracos, 2007). For example, cancer patients often have difficulty focusing attention away from the disease, tend to ruminate on it (e.g., Bishop & Warr, 2003;Chan, Ho, Tedeschi, & Leung, 2011) and have cancer-related negative intrusive thoughts (e.g., Brenne, Loge, Kaasa, Heitzer, Knudsen, & Wasteson, 2013;Walker, Nail, Larsen, Magill, & Schwartz, 1996). Thus, we expect that changes engendered by cancer and its treatment -that are disgust-provoking (Powell, Azlan, Simpson, & Overton, 2016) and germane to the diagnosis -may result in disgust reactions having a stronger influence on current psychological wellbeing in people with cancer (vs. cancer-free controls).…”

The Edmonton Symptom Assessment System: Poor performance as screener for major depression in patients with incurable cancer

“…The EPCRC project aimed to improve assessment and classification of depression, pain and cachexia in patients with advanced cancer (22,45,(47)(48)(49). Inclusion criteria were incurable cancer, aged 18 years or older.…”