Psychological issues such as psychological distress and depression can occur at any stage in many cancer patients and even persist the whole disease course from diagnosis to the end of life period. Evidence shows that 20% to 52% of cancer patients were detected to suffer from clinically significant psychological distress. According to a recent systematic review of 210 eligible studies, the prevalence of clinical depression among cancer patients varied from 7.9% to 32.4%, with a mean of 21.2% depression for different cancer entities. Meanwhile, psychological issues, especially psychological distress and depression, have become a major challenge faced by cancer patients during anti-cancer treatment because it has been demonstrated to be associated with the occurrence of several adverse consequences. As an example, psychological distress and depression have been found to be the contributor to the interruption of anticancer treatment and also be associated with longer hospital stays, poorer quality of life and increased risk of mortality. Moreover, psychological distress and depression were proved to accelerate the growth of tumor cells.
According to global statistics, approximately 19.29 million new cancer cases and 0.996 million cancer-related deaths were reported in 2020. As a result, the anticipated prevalence of psychological issues among cancer patients should be especially emphasized. And given the fact that psychological issues have significant adverse impacts on the anti-cancer treatment effects and prognosis, it is critical to accelerate psychological rehabilitation through early and effectively screening, diagnosing and treating clinical and sub-clinical psychological issues among cancer patients, which is also vitally important for the prevention, management, treatment, and rehabilitation of the disease.
This research topic mainly aims to develop effective tools for detecting psychological issues, to investigate and understand the potential mechanisms and psychosocial factors of psychological issues, and to improve the rehabilitation effects of psychosocial rehabilitation protocols on psychological issues among cancer patients. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
• The screening and diagnosis of psychological issues, especially psychological distress and depression, among different types of cancer patients.
• The development and validation of specific tools for screening psychological issues among cancer patients.
• The potential mechanisms involved in the development and progress of various psychological issues.
• The role of illness perception and learned hopelessness on psychological issues among cancer patients.
• Effective psychological interventions, such as mindfulness-based protocol, for psychological issues among cancer patients.
• The psychological factors that may influence the disease process for cancer patients.
Psychological issues such as psychological distress and depression can occur at any stage in many cancer patients and even persist the whole disease course from diagnosis to the end of life period. Evidence shows that 20% to 52% of cancer patients were detected to suffer from clinically significant psychological distress. According to a recent systematic review of 210 eligible studies, the prevalence of clinical depression among cancer patients varied from 7.9% to 32.4%, with a mean of 21.2% depression for different cancer entities. Meanwhile, psychological issues, especially psychological distress and depression, have become a major challenge faced by cancer patients during anti-cancer treatment because it has been demonstrated to be associated with the occurrence of several adverse consequences. As an example, psychological distress and depression have been found to be the contributor to the interruption of anticancer treatment and also be associated with longer hospital stays, poorer quality of life and increased risk of mortality. Moreover, psychological distress and depression were proved to accelerate the growth of tumor cells.
According to global statistics, approximately 19.29 million new cancer cases and 0.996 million cancer-related deaths were reported in 2020. As a result, the anticipated prevalence of psychological issues among cancer patients should be especially emphasized. And given the fact that psychological issues have significant adverse impacts on the anti-cancer treatment effects and prognosis, it is critical to accelerate psychological rehabilitation through early and effectively screening, diagnosing and treating clinical and sub-clinical psychological issues among cancer patients, which is also vitally important for the prevention, management, treatment, and rehabilitation of the disease.
This research topic mainly aims to develop effective tools for detecting psychological issues, to investigate and understand the potential mechanisms and psychosocial factors of psychological issues, and to improve the rehabilitation effects of psychosocial rehabilitation protocols on psychological issues among cancer patients. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
• The screening and diagnosis of psychological issues, especially psychological distress and depression, among different types of cancer patients.
• The development and validation of specific tools for screening psychological issues among cancer patients.
• The potential mechanisms involved in the development and progress of various psychological issues.
• The role of illness perception and learned hopelessness on psychological issues among cancer patients.
• Effective psychological interventions, such as mindfulness-based protocol, for psychological issues among cancer patients.
• The psychological factors that may influence the disease process for cancer patients.