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Psychotherapy for cancer patients
Ng Chong Guan1, Salina Mohamed2, Lai Kian Tiah3
11 Department of Psychological Medicine, University Malaya Medical Centre, Malaysia.
International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine
|June 21, 2017
Summary
Psychotherapy shows short-term anxiety relief for cancer patients but lacks robust evidence for long-term benefits or depression improvement. More high-quality trials are needed to confirm its efficacy.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Psychiatry
- Evidence-Based Medicine
Background:
- Psychotherapy is a key non-pharmacological intervention for psychological distress in cancer patients.
- Previous reviews are outdated, lacking quantitative analysis of psychotherapy's effectiveness.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review and quantitatively analyze published trials on psychotherapy for cancer patients.
- To assess the efficacy of different psychotherapy types in improving cancer patients' psychological well-being.
Main Methods:
- Systematic literature search of PubMed and EMBASE databases.
- Inclusion of 17 clinical trials across six psychotherapy types.
- Meta-analysis of four trials focusing on adjunct psychological therapy.
Main Results:
- Adjunct psychological therapy improved quality of life and coping, with short-term anxiety reduction.
- No significant long-term anxiety improvement (beyond 4 months) or depression changes were observed.
- The number and quality of available clinical trials were generally poor.
Conclusions:
- Current evidence on psychotherapy efficacy in cancer patients is unsatisfactory.
- More rigorous, well-designed clinical trials are essential to establish definitive benefits.
- Further research should focus on specific psychotherapy modalities and long-term outcomes.
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