The role of psychooncology in cancer treatment – a literature review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12775/JEHS.2024.70.55663Keywords
Psychooncology, cancer, anxiety, depression, PTSD, griefAbstract
Introduction and objective. Receiving a cancer diagnosis can lead to significant mental distress, highlighting the necessity for comprehensive medical care that includes psychological support. Effective psycho-oncological therapy can help patients find fulfillment regardless of their prognosis, while also improving overall outcomes and treatment adherence. This article aims to review the medical literature on the mental health challenges faced by cancer patients and to explore potential treatment modalities.
Review methods. Implementing Google Scholar and PubMed, a literature analysis was conducted, with particular attention paid to terms like "psychooncology," "anxiety," "depression," "cancer," "grief," and "PTSD." The period of consideration for articles was from 2017 to 2024.
Brief description of the state of knowledge. Grief, anxiety, PTSD, despair, and other mental health problems can arise after receiving a cancer diagnosis. In order to improve treatment adherence and survival rates, psychological well-being must be addressed. Empirical evidence indicates that psychological disorders can hinder adherence to therapy and elevate the risk of death from cancer. Furthermore, as families often endure significant stress throughout the disease, psychological care is beneficial to both patients and their relatives. It is possible to enhance adherence and reduce symptoms by using an integrated strategy that takes into consideration both physical and mental health.
Conclusions. An essential part of holistic cancer care is psycho-oncology, which enhances patients' general health and quality of life. Psycho-oncological therapy must be incorporated into standard cancer care in order to improve treatment outcomes and assist patients in overcoming their condition.
References
World Health Organization. Global cancer burden growing, amidst mounting need for services. https://www.who.int/news/item/01-02-2024-global-cancer-burden-growing--amidst-mounting-need-for-services (accessed 05.10.2024)
International Agency for Research on Cancer. All cancers. Absolute numbers, Incidence, Both sexes, in 2022. https://gco.iarc.fr/today/en/dataviz/pie?mode=population&group_populations=0&types=0 (accessed 05.10.2024)
Papież, M. A., & Krzyściak, W. (2021). Biological Therapies in the Treatment of Cancer-Update and New Directions. International journal of molecular sciences, 22(21), 11694. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms222111694
Zielazny, P., Zielińska, P., de Walden - Gałuszko, K., Kuziemski, K., Bętkowska - Korpała, B. (2016). Psychooncology in Poland. Psychiatria Polska, 50(5), 1065-1073. https://doi.org/10.12740/PP/60906
Seitschek, D., Sulz-Lehar, N., & Sebesta, C. (2023). Psychoonkologie – Bestandteil einer umfassenden onkologischen Behandlung [Psychooncology-part of a comprehensive oncological treatment]. Wiener medizinische Wochenschrift (1946), 173(9-10), 206–208. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10354-022-00968-5
Muth C. (2021). Psychoonkologie 2021 – ein ganzheitliches Behandlungskonzept [Psychooncology 2021 - a holistic treatment concept]. Deutsche medizinische Wochenschrift (1946), 146(19), 1254–1257. https://doi.org/10.1055/a-1186-6703
Goldberg, R., Nissim, R., An, E., & Hales, S. (2021). Impact of medical assistance in dying (MAiD) on family caregivers. BMJ supportive & palliative care, 11(1), 107–114. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjspcare-2018-001686
Burney S. (2019). Psychological issues in cancer survivorship. Climacteric : the journal of the International Menopause Society, 22(6), 584–588. https://doi.org/10.1080/13697137.2019.1606795
Ni, H., Sun, Y., Meng, Y., Zhang, J., & Yang, Y. (2022). Effects of Psychiatric Issues and Early Enteral Nutrition Therapy on Anxiety and Quality-of-Life of Patients with Gastric Cancer. American journal of health behavior, 46(6), 595–599. https://doi.org/10.5993/AJHB.46.6.1
Annunziata, M. A., Muzzatti, B., Bidoli, E., Flaiban, C., Bomben, F., Piccinin, M., Gipponi, K. M., Mariutti, G., Busato, S., & Mella, S. (2020). Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) accuracy in cancer patients. Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer, 28(8), 3921–3926. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-019-05244-8
Cordova, M. J., Riba, M. B., & Spiegel, D. (2017). Post-traumatic stress disorder and cancer. The lancet. Psychiatry, 4(4), 330–338. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(17)30014-7
Grassi, L., Caruso, R., Riba, M. B., Lloyd-Williams, M., Kissane, D., Rodin, G., McFarland, D., Campos-Ródenas, R., Zachariae, R., Santini, D., Ripamonti, C. I., & ESMO Guidelines Committee. Electronic address: clinicalguidelines@esmo.org (2023). Anxiety and depression in adult cancer patients: ESMO Clinical Practice Guideline. ESMO open, 8(2), 101155. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esmoop.2023.101155
Hartung, T. J., Brähler, E., Faller, H., Härter, M., Hinz, A., Johansen, C., Keller, M., Koch, U., Schulz, H., Weis, J., & Mehnert, A. (2017). The risk of being depressed is significantly higher in cancer patients than in the general population: Prevalence and severity of depressive symptoms across major cancer types. European journal of cancer (Oxford, England : 1990), 72, 46–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejca.2016.11.017
Chayadi, E., Baes, N., & Kiropoulos, L. (2022). The effects of mindfulness-based interventions on symptoms of depression, anxiety, and cancer-related fatigue in oncology patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PloS one, 17(7), e0269519. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0269519
Sadaqa, D., Farraj, A., Naseef, H., Alsaid, H., Al-Shami, N., & AbuKhalil, A. D. (2022). Risk of developing depression among breast cancer patients in Palestine. BMC cancer, 22(1), 295. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-022-09420-8
Bonanno, G. A., & Malgaroli, M. (2020). Trajectories of grief: Comparing symptoms from the DSM-5 and ICD-11 diagnoses. Depression and anxiety, 37(1), 17–25. https://doi.org/10.1002/da.22902
Liu, W., Liu, J., Ma, L., & Chen, J. (2022). Effect of mindfulness yoga on anxiety and depression in early breast cancer patients received adjuvant chemotherapy: a randomized clinical trial. Journal of cancer research and clinical oncology, 148(9), 2549–2560. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-022-04167-y
Harms, J., Kunzmann, B., Bredereke, J., Harms, L., Jungbluth, T., & Zimmermann, T. (2023). Anxiety in patients with gastrointestinal cancer undergoing primary surgery. Journal of cancer research and clinical oncology, 149(11), 8191–8200. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-023-04759-2
Steindorf, K., Clauss, D., Tjaden, C., Hackert, T., Herbolsheimer, F., Bruckner, T., Schneider, L., Ulrich, C. M., & Wiskemann, J. (2019). Quality of Life, Fatigue, and Sleep Problems in Pancreatic Cancer Patients—A Randomized Trial on the Effects of Exercise. Deutsches Arzteblatt international, 116(27-28), 471–478. https://doi.org/10.3238/arztebl.2019.0471
Essa, H., & Lip, G. Y. (2021). Palpitations in the Cancer Patient. European cardiology, 16, e45. https://doi.org/10.15420/ecr.2021.44
Hofmann, S., Hess, S., Klein, C., Lindena, G., Radbruch, L., & Ostgathe, C. (2017). Patients in palliative care-Development of a predictive model for anxiety using routine data. PloS one, 12(8), e0179415. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0179415
van den Brekel, L., van der Baan, F. H., Zweers, D., Koldenhof, J. J., Vos, J. B. H., de Graeff, A., Witteveen, P. O., & Teunissen, S. C. C. M. (2020). Predicting Anxiety in Hospitalized Cancer Patients. Journal of pain and symptom management, 60(3), 522–530.e1. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2020.04.005
Zhang, Y., Li, J., & Hu, X. (2022). The effectiveness of dignity therapy on hope, quality of life, anxiety, and depression in cancer patients: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. International journal of nursing studies, 132, 104273. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2022.104273
Chirico, A., Maiorano, P., Indovina, P., Milanese, C., Giordano, G. G., Alivernini, F., Iodice, G., Gallo, L., De Pietro, G., Lucidi, F., Botti, G., De Laurentiis, M., & Giordano, A. (2020). Virtual reality and music therapy as distraction interventions to alleviate anxiety and improve mood states in breast cancer patients during chemotherapy. Journal of cellular physiology, 235(6), 5353–5362. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcp.29422
Li, D., Li, Y., Bai, X., Wang, M., Yan, J., & Cao, Y. (2022). The Effects of Aromatherapy on Anxiety and Depression in People With Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Frontiers in public health, 10, 853056. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.853056
Wang, Y. H., Li, J. Q., Shi, J. F., Que, J. Y., Liu, J. J., Lappin, J. M., Leung, J., Ravindran, A. V., Chen, W. Q., Qiao, Y. L., Shi, J., Lu, L., & Bao, Y. P. (2020). Depression and anxiety in relation to cancer incidence and mortality: a systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies. Molecular psychiatry, 25(7), 1487–1499. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-019-0595-x
Thakur, A., Choudhary, D., Kumar, B., & Chaudhary, A. (2022). A Review on Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): Symptoms, Therapies and Recent Case Studies. Current molecular pharmacology, 15(3), 502–516. https://doi.org/10.2174/1874467214666210525160944
Leano, A., Korman, M. B., Goldberg, L., & Ellis, J. (2019). Are we missing PTSD in our patients with cancer? Part I. Canadian oncology nursing journal = Revue canadienne de nursing oncologique, 29(2), 141–146.
Cherifi, F., Gernier, F., Jardin, F., Lefevre-Arbogast, S., Bastien, E., Lequesne, J., Rigal, O., Quilan, F., Clarisse, B., Grellard, J. M., Binarelli, G., Fernette, M., Lange, M., Richard, D., Morel, A., Griffon, B., Pepin, L. F., Leconte, A., Faveyrial, A., Leheurteur, M., … Joly, F. (2023). Post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms and quality of life among older patients with cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of geriatric oncology, 14(8), 101634. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jgo.2023.101634
Bach, A., Knauer, K., Graf, J., Schäffeler, N., & Stengel, A. (2022). Psychiatric comorbidities in cancer survivors across tumor subtypes: A systematic review. World journal of psychiatry, 12(4), 623–635. https://doi.org/10.5498/wjp.v12.i4.623
Li, X., Li, J., Shi, Y., Wang, T., Zhang, A., Shao, N., & Wang, Z. (2017). Psychological intervention improves life quality of patients with laryngeal cancer. Patient preference and adherence, 11, 1723–1727. https://doi.org/10.2147/PPA.S147205
Ibrahim, I. B., Videbech, P., & Straszek, S. P. V. (2023). Psychedelic drugs in the treatment of psychiatric disorders. Ugeskrift for laeger, 185(32), V01230066.
Madsen, R., Larsen, P., Fiala Carlsen, A. M., & Marcussen, J. (2023). Nursing care and nurses' understandings of grief and bereavement among patients and families during cancer illness and death - A scoping review. European journal of oncology nursing : the official journal of European Oncology Nursing Society, 62, 102260. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejon.2022.102260
Kustanti, C. Y., Chu, H., Kang, X. L., Huang, T. W., Jen, H. J., Liu, D., Shen Hsiao, S. T., & Chou, K. R. (2022). Prevalence of grief disorders in bereaved families of cancer patients: A meta-analysis. Palliative medicine, 36(2), 305–318. https://doi.org/10.1177/02692163211066747
Treml, J., Schmidt, V., Nagl, M., & Kersting, A. (2021). Pre-loss grief and preparedness for death among caregivers of terminally ill cancer patients: A systematic review. Social science & medicine (1982), 284, 114240. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114240
Iglewicz, A., Shear, M. K., Reynolds, C. F., 3rd, Simon, N., Lebowitz, B., & Zisook, S. (2020). Complicated grief therapy for clinicians: An evidence-based protocol for mental health practice. Depression and anxiety, 37(1), 90–98. https://doi.org/10.1002/da.22965
Kaiser, J., Nagl, M., Hoffmann, R., Linde, K., & Kersting, A. (2022). Therapist-Assisted Web-Based Intervention for Prolonged Grief Disorder After Cancer Bereavement: Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR mental health, 9(2), e27642. https://doi.org/10.2196/27642
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Karolina Jaglarz, Maciej Kuca, Marcin Cholewa, Julia Wójcik, Kacper Wojciech Pamuła, Wiktoria Maria Szymańska, Julia Plewniok, Maria Partyka, Maksymilian Janeczek, Karolina Kinga Kantor
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
The periodical offers access to content in the Open Access system under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0
Stats
Number of views and downloads: 152
Number of citations: 0
