Association of Depression and Survival in Patients with Cancer over 10 Years

Abstract

Purpose: This study was conducted to identify the effects of depression on the survival of patients with cancer over a 10 year period. Methods: A retrospective review was conducted to examine survival of 218 patients with stomach, colorectal and breast cancer, who had been treated for cancer from 2002 to 2011. Depression was assessed by using the Symptom Check List-90 Revision in 2002, and hope, fighting spirit and other potential confounders were also measured to control for their effects on the association between depression and the survival time. Data on survival were collected from the Statistics Korea and also from medical record in 2011. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Cox proportional hazard regression model were used to examine if depression affected survival. Results: The total number of death was 106, and the non-survivors scored higher on depression than survivors. Depression was found to be one of the influencing factors on survival from cancer. Conclusion: Depression was significantly associated with the increased risk of death in cancer patients. Further research is needed to identify in details which type of emotional interventions can extend the survival time of cancer patients in depression.