Psycho-oncological support for breast cancer patients: A brief overview of breast cancer services certification schemes and national health policies in Europe

Neamţiu, Luciana; Deandrea, Silvia; Pylkkänen, Liisa; Freeman, Crystal; Alcalde, Jesús López; Bramesfeld, Anke; Saz‐Parkinson, Zuleika; Ulutürk, A.; Donata, Lerda

doi:10.1016/j.breast.2016.07.002

Cited by 10 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“… 2 Cancer treatment is challenging because many physical and psychosocial problems are present at all stages of the disease but conventional treatment for cancer such as chemotherapy focuses on addressing the physical dimensions of cancer (ie, stopping or slowing the growth of cancer cells). 3 4 Given that QOL is a comprehensive assessment of clinical outcome, examining the level and predictors of QOL in patients with cancer is essential in developing measures to improve quality of care and treatment outcomes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health-related quality of life in Chinese inpatients with lung cancer treated in large general hospitals: across-sectional study

Zhong

2018

BMJ Open

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ObjectiveIn China, psychosocial problems of patients with cancer are under-recognised and undertreated in medical oncology practice. This study examined the health-related quality of life (QOL) in inpatients with lung cancer treated in large general hospitals and explored the demographic, clinical and psychosocial factors associated with QOL.DesignCross-sectional study.Participants and settingAltogether, 148 inpatients with lung cancer were consecutively recruited from two large general hospitals in Tianjin, China.Main outcome measuredQOL, pain intensity, depressive and anxiety symptoms, and social support were assessed with WHO QOL Scale Brief Version, four-point Verbal Rating Scale, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and Social Support Rating Scale, respectively.ResultsCompared with the normative data for the Chinese general population, patients had significantly lower scores in physical (t=−25.860, p<0.001) and psychological (t=−18.225, p<0.001) QOL. Being unmarried (β=−2.471, 95% CI −4.908 to –0.034), poor economic status (β=−1.764, 95% CI −2.964 to –0.564), cancer metastasis (β=−1.328, 95% CI −2.632 to –0.024), poor performance status (β=−0.959, 95% CI −1.542 to –0.376), depression (β=−0.465, 95% CI −0.631 to –0.299), anxiety (β=−0.208, 95% CI −0.354 to –0.062) and low utilisation of social support (β=−0.344, 95% CI −0.577 to –0.111) were independently associated with poor physical QOL, while female gender (β=−1.494, 95% CI −0.649 to –2.339), less education years (β=−0.209, 95% CI −0.294 to –0.123), currently receiving chemotherapy (β=−1.536, 95% CI −3.051 to –0.021), small-cell cancer (β=−1.157, 95% CI −2.223 to –0.091), more intense pain (β=−0.535, 95% CI −0.919 to –0.151), poor performance status (β=−0.930, 95% CI −1.383 to –0.477), anxiety (β=−0.178, 95% CI −0.248 to –0.108) and inadequate subjective social support (β=−0.137, 95% CI −0.153 to –0.121) were independently associated with poor psychological QOL.ConclusionsInpatients with lung cancer treated in Chinese large general hospitals have poorer QOL than the general population. Effective prevention and management of psychosocial problems are potentially effective to improve their QOL.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health-related quality of life in Chinese inpatients with lung cancer treated in large general hospitals: across-sectional study

Zhong

2018

BMJ Open

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“…19,20 Even with significant improvement in the outcome of breast cancer over the last few decades, a survey conducted in 32 countries in Europe showed that only one-third of the countries had documented requirements and specific indicators for psychosocial interventions, resources they require, and educational requirements. 19 The role of psychosocial support remains crucial in treatment. "The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic had affected cancer care and service delivery around the world and we published the impact of the pandemic on psycho-oncology services separately."…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…European and American guidelines stress the need for the incorporation of psychological interventions in breast cancer services. 19,20 Even with significant improvement in the outcome of breast cancer over the last few decades, a survey conducted in 32 countries in Europe showed that only one-third of the countries had documented requirements and specific indicators for psychosocial interventions, resources they require, and educational requirements. 19 The role of psychosocial support remains crucial in treatment.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

When Do Patients with Breast Cancer Seek Help from Psycho-oncology Services? A 3-Year Retrospective Study from India

Mukherjee

Samanta

Sharma

et al. 2023

Indian J Med Paediatr Oncol

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Introduction Breast cancer is the most frequent cancer among women. In the last few decades, the outcome of breast cancer has improved significantly in terms of survivorship and quality of life. However, it is crucial that alongside managing the disease, breast cancer services address and manage associated or co-occurring psychiatric illnesses such as acute stress reactions, procedural anxieties, adjustment issues, depression, and fear of recurrence, which leads to an overall better experience of the patient. Objective There is a paucity of data on the patterns of psychiatric morbidity in patients with breast cancer who access psycho-oncology services in a naturalistic setup outside research studies from India. The current study focused on exploring this alongside reporting the common treatment methods adopted for this group of patients. Materials and Methods Real-life data from electronic patient records were retrospectively reviewed for all patients with breast cancer accessing integrated psycho-oncology services in a tertiary care hospital in India over three 3 years (2018–2020). The various psychiatric morbidities were reported, along with associated cancer demographic data, disease characteristics, and treatment details. Results Of all the breast cancer patients (n = 338) in the calendar years 2018 to 2020 reviewed by psycho-oncology services, the most common psychiatric diagnosis was depressive illness (n = 100, 29.6%), followed by adjustment disorders (n = 68, 20.1%) and anxiety (n = 66, 19.5%). There was a significant minority with serious enduring mental illnesses such as schizophrenia (n = 11, 3.3%) and bipolar disorders (n = 14, 4.1%). On the other hand, 14.2% (n = 48) of the patients with breast cancer who attended Psycho-oncology outpatient department did not have any psychiatric syndrome. Around 16.3% of patients could be managed without a prescription for any medications and almost half of the patients needed only one psychotropic medicine. Psychological interventions were used for 45.6% of patients. Conclusions Integrated psycho-oncology services in a cancer hospital catering to patients with breast cancer help in psychiatric assessment, diagnosis, and addressing the mental health needs of patients. The treatment offered needs to be nuanced and individualized and may require a combination of psychotropic medications and psychological techniques.

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“…Concerning cross-countries’ disparities, Eastern and Southern European countries tend to provide worse quality cancer care than Nordic countries. Neamţiu et al (2016) published a report analysing the availability and provision of psycho-oncological support in national policy documents and in breast cancer care certification schemes across 32 European countries following the recommendations of the EPAAC. As emerged by the above-mentioned report, 25 national and 4 regional cancer plans were identified, with 6 countries (i.e., Bulgaria, Croatia, Iceland, Lichtenstein, Romania, and Slovakia) not reporting any cancer plan, program or strategy regarding the implementation of psycho-oncological support, whilst the remaining 28 countries only mentioned the need for psycho-oncological support.…”

Section: Disparitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Detailed recommendations and guidelines for psycho-oncological support were reported in only 10 countries’ national plans, including Austria, Belgium, Germany, Netherlands. and Switzerland ( Neamţiu et al, 2016 ). Nonetheless, after 2016, the GCS opened its Cancer Centre Certification Programme to centres in non-German speaking countries in order to improve the quality of general and psychological cancer care within certified networks.…”

Section: Disparitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Disparities and barriers in the assessment of psychological distress, access to and use of psycho-oncological support in Europe: current perspectives

Coppini,

Ferraris,

Monzani

et al. 2023

Front. Psychol.

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The implementation of psycho-oncological support has shown important results in positively influencing treatment outcomes and quality of life in cancer patients and survivors. In the last few decades, the importance of mental health has been brought to attention to the general public and healthcare professionals on a national, institutional and organisational level. Official guidelines, policies, and training programs have been developed suggesting that psycho-oncological support should be considered as a non-negotiable requirement for quality cancer care in many hospitals and clinical centres across Europe. Health organisations, associations, institutions, and societies, such as the International Psycho-Oncology Society (IPOS) and the European Partnership for Action Against Cancer (EPAAC), are forming alliances, funding research projects and organising congresses in order to study, understand, and discuss the reasons for barriers and disparities in psycho-oncological support and, eventually, to overcome the existing cancer divide. Nevertheless, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) estimations indicate that the cancer burden is still increasing, and relevant barriers and disparities in accessing psycho-oncological support continue to exist and influence the health conditions and quality of life of cancer patients and survivors. The present work will present the current disparities and barriers regarding assessment, access to and use of psycho-oncological support in the countries of the European Union, making suggestions for further research and possible solutions.

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Psycho-oncological support for breast cancer patients: A brief overview of breast cancer services certification schemes and national health policies in Europe

Cited by 10 publications

References 9 publications

Health-related quality of life in Chinese inpatients with lung cancer treated in large general hospitals: across-sectional study

Health-related quality of life in Chinese inpatients with lung cancer treated in large general hospitals: across-sectional study

When Do Patients with Breast Cancer Seek Help from Psycho-oncology Services? A 3-Year Retrospective Study from India

Disparities and barriers in the assessment of psychological distress, access to and use of psycho-oncological support in Europe: current perspectives

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