Abstract
BACKGROUND. Previous research has found that cancer patients often overestimate the likelihood that they will achieve a positive response in Phase I trials. However, maintaining optimistic expectations may help patients cope with a poor prognosis and uncertain outcome. The authors prospectively examined the association between treatment-specific optimism and mental health among patients participating in a Phase I/b trial. METHODS. Twenty-four patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma and 22 patients with metastatic melanoma completed an assessment battery at the beginning of treatment and 3 weeks later, on the final day of treatment. Patients completed measures of treatment-specific optimism (e.g., beliefs regarding the treatment working), depressive symptomatology, mood disturbance, and overall distress. RESULTS. The majority of patients believed that the treatment would either cure them (87%) or stop cancer progression (85%). Regression analyses revealed that the level of treatment-specific optimism (e.g., "The treatment I am receiving may cure me") was associated negatively with baseline measures of depressive symptoms (P < 0.006), mood disturbance (P < 0.001), and symptoms of distress (P < 0.0001) after controlling for age, number of metastases, and time since diagnosis. Patients with symptoms of clinical depression at baseline reported significantly lower levels of treatment-specific optimism than patients without symptoms (P < 0.03). Treatment-specific optimism also was associated negatively with symptoms of depression at the end of treatment (P < 0.003), controlling for symptoms of depression at the beginning of treatment. CONCLUSIONS. The results of the current study suggest that high levels of treatment-specific optimism are associated with better mental health outcomes at both the beginning and end of treatment.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1949-1955 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Cancer |
Volume | 91 |
Issue number | 10 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - May 15 2001 |
Keywords
- Depression
- Mental health
- Neoplasms
- Optimism
- Phase I trials
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Oncology
- Cancer Research