Management of depression for people with cancer (SMaRT oncology 1): a randomised trial

Desire for psychological support in cancer patients with depression or distress: validation of a simple help question

“…In trial settings uptake of help is generally higher than in clinical practice but in a recent trial of psychological treatment of depression delivered by cancer nurses, 20% of patients declined participation, largely because of scepticism about whether the intervention would be effective [28]. Strengths of this study include the fact that two measures were used as comparison tools and patients were all given the questionnaires at the same time points within their treatment.…”

“…Clearly, expression of help is linked with the acceptability of the treatment on offer. For example, found that only 28.2% of patients who screened positive on the DT and Impact Thermometer would accept a referral to a psychiatrist [9]. Similarly, Curry et al (2002) found that of those offered psychosocial referral only 22% accepted.…”

Improving Primary Care for Older Adults with Cancer and Depression

“…In an earlier British study, Strong and colleagues 49 demonstrated the effectiveness of an oncology nurse-led collaborative care model with a younger, more female population in a cancer center. Ell and colleagues 50 found 12 months of bilingual social worker-led collaborative care to be more effective than usual care for depression in low-income, predominantly female (85%) Hispanic cancer patients with probable major depression or dysthymia at a university-affiliated county cancer clinic.…”

“…This is the first study of collaborative care for depressed older adults with cancer in primary care settings (as opposed to cancer centers). 49,50 It also differs in its enrollment of a higher proportion of elderly, male, and chronically depressed and medically ill patients. Late-life depression is especially undetected and undertreated in men and members of racial and ethnic minority groups.…”

Optimal follow-up for melanoma

“…The study by Strong et al suggested that all kinds of cancer patients, including melanoma, suffering from major depression and anxiety during medical specialist treatment can benefit from a psychosocial intervention programme [79]. The Distress Thermometer and problem list [217], its Dutch version for the Netherlands [80], or the recently developed melanoma-specific Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy (FACT-M) qualityof-life questionnaire [81] may assist doctors in more accurately identifying those patients who suffer from significant levels of distress and are in need of psychoeducational interventions or reassurance through more intensive follow-up.…”