Perioperative risk factors of psychological distress in patients undergoing treatment for esophageal cancer
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Abstract
Background: Esophageal cancer patients often feel depressed and are fearful of metastasis and death. The objective of this study was to clarify the characteristics of patients with psychological distress at all 5 time points compared with patients with no psychological distress especially from standpoints of personal coping styles and QOL. Methods: In total, 102 of 152 consecutive patients who attended the outpatient clinic at Toranomon Hospital between April 2017 and April 2019 met eligibility criteria for inclusion in this study. Questionnaires designed to identify psychological distress (HADS-scores) and assess QOL (EORTC QLQ C-30/OES18) were administered at 5 time points from the time of the first outpatient consultation to 3 months after esophagectomy. The questionnaire of coping strategies (MAC-scales) was administered at only time 1 point. Results: Based on the trends of HADS-scores, we defined two groups: “persistent high-HAD scores” and “persistent low-HADS scores.” There are strong relationships between psychological distress and coping strategy, and psychological distress and QOL. The possibility that there are relationships between stress coping strategies and some QOL status depending on some point of treatment. Conclusions: The psychological distress during the treatment course of esophageal cancer is significantly associated with the coping strategies and QOL influenced by esophagectomy. This study can provide baseline information for identifying patients in need of psychological management and paves the way for larger clinical studies in the future.
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Changes in psychological status of patients undergoing esophagectomy are significantly associated with changes in symptom experience and quality of life brought about by esophagectomy.
“Ohkura et al. longitudinally tracked changes in the psychological status of patients undergoing esophagectomy at fve time points and showed that changes in patients' psychological status were signifcantly associated with changes in symptom experience and quality of life brought about by esophagectomy [47,48].”
From Symptom Experiences before Medical Help-Seeking and Psychosocial Responses of Patients with Esophageal Cancer: A Qualitative Study. (2023) · cites this paper as [48]
The Methods report psychological-distress measurements at five time points, and the Results (EORTC QLQ C-30 and psychological distress; page unavailable) find significantly worse functioning and symptoms in the persistently distressed group. However, the study compares groups with persistently high or low distress; it does not show that within-patient changes in psychological status were significantly associated with changes in symptoms or quality of life. (LLM, conf=0.85)
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- Authors
- Ohkura, Y., Shindoh, J., Ichikura, K., Udagawa, H., Ueno, M., & Matsushima, E.
- Affiliations
- Tokyo Medical and Dental University (JP)
- Toranomon Hospital (JP)
- Kitasato University (JP)
- Corresponding author
- Ohkura, Yu
- Venue
- World Journal of Surgical Oncology
- Published
- 2020-12
- Volume
- 18
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 326-326
- ISSN
- 1477-7819 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC7727175
- OpenAlex
- W3111757166
- Cited by
- 15
- References
- 38
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 1
- FWCI
- 0.72
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- World Journal of Surgical Oncology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Research Square (acceptedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Cancer survivorship and care
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Surgery › Esophageal Cancer Research and Treatment
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine › Gastric Cancer Management and Outcomes
- Keywords
- esophageal cancer, psychological distress, coping strategies, quality of life, esophagectomy, perioperative period, depression, anxiety, fear of death, psychological management
- MeSH terms
- Psychological Distress, Esophageal Neoplasms, Humans, Prognosis, Quality of Life, Surveys and Questionnaires, Risk Factors, Stress, Psychological
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