Anxiety and Depression as Potential Predictors for Shorter Time to Undergo Initial Surgical Treatment for Papillary...

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Psychiatry
• Medical Decision Making

Background:

• Pre-existing psychiatric conditions can influence patient and physician decisions after a thyroid cancer diagnosis.
• This study is the first to examine the link between pre-existing anxiety/depression and the time to thyroid cancer surgery.
• Such conditions might lead to choosing surgery over active surveillance, potentially accelerating cancer treatment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between pre-existing anxiety and/or depression and the time to surgical treatment for thyroid cancer.
• To compare the time from diagnosis to surgery in thyroid cancer patients with and without pre-existing anxiety/depression.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective data analysis of 652 thyroid cancer patients treated between 2018 and 2020.
• Comparison of the time interval between diagnosis and surgical intervention.
• Stratification of patients based on pre-existing anxiety and/or depression.

Main Results:

• Patients with anxiety, depression, or both had significantly shorter times to surgery (51.6, 57, and 57.4 days, respectively) compared to those without (111.9 days).
• Statistical significance was observed for all comparisons (p = 0.002, p = 0.004, p = 0.003).

Conclusions:

• Pre-existing anxiety and/or depression appear to correlate with more prompt surgical intervention in thyroid cancer cases.
• Psychiatric history may be a crucial factor for physicians to consider during patient counseling for thyroid cancer.
• Further research is needed to fully understand the impact of psychiatric conditions on thyroid cancer treatment decisions.