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Only about 51% of depressed patients opted for chemotherapy following surgery to remove a breast tumor, compared with about 92% of women who were not depressed, according to the report in the October 14th issue of The Lancet.
The findings suggest that treating depression might help to extend the lives of women with breast cancer who also suffer from depression.
"There is evidence that depression is related to a reduced chance of survival in breast cancer patients," Dr. Marco Colleoni from the European Institute of Oncology in Milan and the study's lead author, told Reuters Health. "Therefore, psychological support and treatment of depression might be very important to improve the rate of acceptance of chemotherapy and possibly the prognosis of these patients."
Chemotherapy has been shown extend the lives of women who have had surgery to treat early-stage breast cancer, a stage in which the tumor is still confined to the breast. To investigate whether depression prevented women from seeking this treatment, the researchers compared the medical records of 39 women who sought psychological support after their surgery with those of 78 patients who did not seek support.
The researchers explain that people who are depressed may be less proactive in obtaining healthcare. The depressed patients in the study were also very concerned about the possible side effects of chemotherapy, which can include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and hair loss, Colleoni pointed out.
Depression is estimated to affect about 24% of hospitalized patients, compared with 5% to 10% of people in the general population, the authors note.
SOURCE: The Lancet 2000;356:1326-1327.
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