The association of adverse reactions and depression in cervical cancer patients treated with radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy: moderated mediation models

Abstract

ObjectiveSeveral studies reported that adverse reactions to treatment, neuroticism, marital relations, and quality of life may impact the development of depression in cervical cancer patients treated with radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy, but the associations between them remained unclear. This study investigated the associations between these factors using moderated mediation models.MethodsData were extracted from a survey involving cervical cancer patients treated with radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy at five tertiary hospitals in Hubei Province, China, from June to December 2022. The SPSS-PROCESS program was used to develop a moderated mediation model to study the roles of neuroticism, quality of life, and marital relations in the association between adverse reactions and depression in the study population.ResultsA total of 802 cervical cancer patients treated with radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy (54.84 ± 9.68 years) were recruited. The prevalence of depression among these patients was 72.72%, with four symptom clusters of dizziness-ringing in the ears, digestive system-related symptoms, skin dryness and itching, and urinary frequency-urgency-leakage. Adverse reactions directly and positively affected the occurrence of depression, neuroticism mediated the association between adverse reactions and depression, while this association varied according to the quality of life and marital relations.ConclusionOur findings suggest that depression is common among cervical cancer patients receiving radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy. Intervention targets for depression in cervical cancer patients should be precisely selected and targeted according to the quality of life and marital relations differences in patients, taking into account the cost of the intervention and the benefit to the patient.

Abdominal Parietal Metastasis from Cervical Cancer: A Review of One of the Most Uncommon Sites of Recurrence Including a Report of a New Case

“…However, the fact that, after the recurrence of the disease, the patient refused the chemotherapy treatment can be attributed, in part, to the depression that she has had since she was first diagnosed with cervical cancer, with the worsening of symptoms in the last period. According to the latest studies, the prevalence of depression in patients with cervical cancer who received neoadjuvant treatment is 72%, this relation varying according to the quality of life and marital relations [ 55 ]. Depressed patients may have problems in compliance with treatment and also it can influence their general clinical condition and quality of life [ 56 ].…”