Upcoming radiotherapy for prostate cancer may lead to emotional distress. This study aimed to identify the prevalence and risk factors in a retrospective cohort of 102 patients.
Thirteen characteristics were evaluated for six emotional problems. To account for multiple comparisons, Bonferroni correction was used; p-values <0.0038 were significant (alpha level <0.05).
Prevalence of worry, fears, sadness, depression, nervousness, and loss of interest in usual activities was 25%, 27%, 11%, 11%, 18%, and 5%, respectively. A greater number of physical problems was significantly associated with worry (p=0.0037) and fears (p<0.0001) and showed trends regarding sadness (p=0.011) and depression (p=0.011). Trends were also found for associations between younger age and worry (p=0.021), advanced primary tumor stage and fears (p=0.025), patient's history of another malignancy and nervousness (p=0.035), and between external-beam radiotherapy alone and fears (p=0.042) or nervousness (p=0.037).
Although the prevalence of emotional distress was comparably low, patients with risk factors may benefit from early psychological support.
Anticancer research. 2023 May [Epub]
Ahmed Al-Salool, Tamer Soror, Nathan Y Yu, Dirk Rades
Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany., Department of Radiation Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Phoenix, AZ, U.S.A., Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany; .