Cancer Patients' Mental Health Untreated

Nov. 14, 2005 -- Fewer than half of advanced cancer patients with a major psychiatric illness receive mental health care.

That's the conclusion of a study appearing in the Dec. 15 issue of the journal Cancer.

"Our results indicated that members of the oncology team frequently failed to address mental health concerns of patients with advanced cancer," the researchers write. They note that untreated psychiatric disorders have been shown to shorten survival and damage quality of life in cancer patients.

The Yale University team evaluated 251 advanced cancer patients for major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder. All of the patients had cancer that had spread far from its point of origin and was not responding to standard chemotherapy.

The researchers found 12% met criteria for diagnosis of at least one major psychiatric disorder -- about the same percentage as in the general population. Of this group, only 45% had utilized mental health services.

Overall, 90% of participants in the study said they were willing to be treated for "emotional problems," but only 17% had talked with a mental health professional since being diagnosed with cancer. White patients and those who had discussed psychological concerns with a professional were most likely to receive mental health care.

The authors say more research is needed to determine how best to evaluate cancer patients' mental health. "If quality of life is an important goal of treatment, psychological symptoms should be recognized as sources of suffering that can be as debilitating as physical complaints," they write. "All cancer patients deserve optimal therapy for psychiatric disorders, particularly to enhance quality of life at the end of life."