Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 1, 2026

Competing-Risk Nomogram for Predicting Cancer-Specific Survival in Multiple Primary Colorectal Cancer Patients after Surgery
Published on: September 27, 2024
Distress in cancer patients: Who are the main groups at risk?
Peter Herschbach1,2, Ingrid Britzelmeir3, Andreas Dinkel2
1Comprehensive Cancer Center, Munich, Germany.
Objectives:
Psychosocial distress is common in cancer patients and survivors and encompasses a broad range of concerns and psychological symptoms. The aim of the current study was to identify subgroups of respondents who experience a specific constellation of distress symptoms.
Methods:
This study uses data from a large data base (n = 21 680) of cancer patients from diverse settings who provided data in the Questionnaire on Distress in Cancer Patients-Short Form (QSC-R10). Cluster analysis was applied to identify subgroups with a distinct constellation of distress symptoms.
Results:
The results showed five distinct clusters: minimally distressed patients (46.6% of the sample), highly distressed patients (12.7%), mainly physically distressed patients (15.2%), mainly psychologically distressed patients (15.6%), and mainly socially distressed patients (9.9%). These groups differed with regard to age, sex, cancer site, treatment setting, and disease progression.
Conclusion:
The results revealed large heterogeneity in the experience of distress. Distress clusters were associated with socio-demographic and clinical variables. These associations might aid a clinician to tailor interventions and to address specific types of distress.
Related Concept Videos
Cancer Survival Analysis
Cancer Prevention
Some...
What is Cancer?
Although people have known about cancer for centuries, it was only in 1761 that Giovanni Morgagni of Padua performed a detailed autopsy of...
Treatment Resistant Cancers
Nursing Ethical Principles II
Consider the following scenario, which illustrates how these principles are applied in the care of Mr. John, a fifty-year-old teacher diagnosed with metastatic liver cancer.
Initially, Mr. John's...
Comparing the Survival Analysis of Two or More Groups