This analy cal, cross-sec onal study applied a quan ta ve approach to verify the presence of depression and the adherence to a chemotherapy treatment in pa ents with cancer at the central chemotherapy pharmacy of a university hospital. The sample consisted of 102 pa ents, and data were collected from October 2010 to May 2011. A structured interview was used to obtain sociodemographic, clinical and therapeu c data; the Morisky Test and Beck Depression Inventory were also applied. The results revealed that 10.8% and 1.9% of par cipants had moderate and severe depression, respec vely. The presence of depression was signifi cantly associated with variables such as income per capita, the number of surgeries, and disease dura on. A lack of treatment adherence was iden fi ed in 48% of par cipants. These results indicate the need for health staff training to detect depressive disorders and chemotherapy treatment a ri on among pa ents with cancer.

OBJECTIVE:to verify depressive symptoms and adherence to chemotherapy among women with breast cancer who are served by the Pharmacy of the Chemotherapy Center of a university hospital.METHOD: cross-sectional study with quantitative approach conducted with 112 women receiving chemotherapy. Structured interviews guided by a script addressing socio-demographic, clinical and therapeutic information, the Morisky Test, and the Beck Depression Inventory were used to collect data. RESULTS: 12.50% and 1.78% of the patients experienced "moderate" and "severe" depression, respectively, while 10.59% did not use antidepressant medication. A statistically significant association was found between levels of depression and the use of antidepressants. Lack of adherence was identified in 46.43% of the participants. CONCLUSION: these findings show the need to regularly screen for depressive symptoms and for adherence to chemotherapy treatment among women with breast cancer, in order to provide early detection and appropriate treatment centered on patients, and to improve their quality of life.