Psychological morbidity associated with local recurrence of breast cancer

Twenty-two individuals who had suffered from local recurrence of breast cancer were interviewed to determine psychosocial morbidity. Psychometric assessment using the Hamilton Anxiety Scale, the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire and the Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale was conducted prior to clinical evaluation including a structured interview, the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. Lifetime and current psychiatric diagnoses were established. Ten (45%) of the recurrence group had current psychiatric illness (anxiety and depression) at the time of local recurrence, a similar prevalence to that described by others at mastectomy. Previous psychiatric illness and trait neuroticism are predictive of vulnerability to psychiatric morbidity at local recurrence. These results suggest that a significant proportion of patients with local recurrence suffer from major depressive illness.