Abstract
Objective: Guidelines for supportive care in cancer patients have recommended routine psychological screening in clinical practice, and a Japanese national project has recommended screening for depression using the Distress and Impact Thermometer. However, a previous study advocating the validity of the Distress and Impact Thermometer may have overestimated its effectiveness, as the study included already-treated patients who were not screening targets. This study reevaluated the performance and usefulness of the Distress and Impact Thermometer using an adequate sample size and appropriate study design. Methods: Patients were consecutively recruited at two highly specialized hospitals and three university hospitals in Japan. Inclusion criteria were (i) undergoing aggressive anti-cancer treatment, (ii) the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status score < 3 and (iii) age > 20 years. Patients who were receiving psychiatric treatment were excluded from the study. After completing the Distress and Impact Thermometer, patients were evaluated with the gold-standard Composite International Diagnostic Interview by researchers who were blinded to the patients' Distress and Impact Thermometer scores. Results: Forty-four patients (9%) who were receiving psychiatric treatment were excluded. Of 468 subjects included in the final analysis, only 3 had current depression (0.6%). Using cutoff points recommended by the previous study, the positive and negative predictive values were 0.02 and 0.99, respectively. Conclusions: Our data indicated that screening for untreated depression in cancer patients was not useful in the specific clinical settings that were studied, and such screening should be implemented in appropriate contexts. Since there are no evidence-based recommendations regarding contexts in which psychological screening is essential, further research is needed.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 993-999 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Japanese Journal of Clinical Oncology |
| Volume | 46 |
| Issue number | 11 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2016 |
| Externally published | Yes |
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Keywords
- Depression
- Diagnosis
- Neoplasms
- Psycho-oncology
- Questionnaires
- Sensitivity and specificity
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Oncology
- Radiology Nuclear Medicine and imaging
- Cancer Research
Cite this
Screening for untreated depression in cancer patients : A Japanese experience. / Inoguchi, Hironobu; Shimizu, Ken; Shimoda, Haruki; Yoshiuchi, Kazuhiro; Akechi, Tatsuo; Uchida, Megumi; Ogawa, Asao; Fujisawa, Daisuke; Inoue, Shinichiro; Uchitomi, Yosuke.
In: Japanese Journal of Clinical Oncology, Vol. 46, No. 11, 2016, p. 993-999.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Screening for untreated depression in cancer patients
T2 - A Japanese experience
AU - Inoguchi, Hironobu
AU - Shimizu, Ken
AU - Shimoda, Haruki
AU - Yoshiuchi, Kazuhiro
AU - Akechi, Tatsuo
AU - Uchida, Megumi
AU - Ogawa, Asao
AU - Fujisawa, Daisuke
AU - Inoue, Shinichiro
AU - Uchitomi, Yosuke
PY - 2016
Y1 - 2016
N2 - Objective: Guidelines for supportive care in cancer patients have recommended routine psychological screening in clinical practice, and a Japanese national project has recommended screening for depression using the Distress and Impact Thermometer. However, a previous study advocating the validity of the Distress and Impact Thermometer may have overestimated its effectiveness, as the study included already-treated patients who were not screening targets. This study reevaluated the performance and usefulness of the Distress and Impact Thermometer using an adequate sample size and appropriate study design. Methods: Patients were consecutively recruited at two highly specialized hospitals and three university hospitals in Japan. Inclusion criteria were (i) undergoing aggressive anti-cancer treatment, (ii) the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status score < 3 and (iii) age > 20 years. Patients who were receiving psychiatric treatment were excluded from the study. After completing the Distress and Impact Thermometer, patients were evaluated with the gold-standard Composite International Diagnostic Interview by researchers who were blinded to the patients' Distress and Impact Thermometer scores. Results: Forty-four patients (9%) who were receiving psychiatric treatment were excluded. Of 468 subjects included in the final analysis, only 3 had current depression (0.6%). Using cutoff points recommended by the previous study, the positive and negative predictive values were 0.02 and 0.99, respectively. Conclusions: Our data indicated that screening for untreated depression in cancer patients was not useful in the specific clinical settings that were studied, and such screening should be implemented in appropriate contexts. Since there are no evidence-based recommendations regarding contexts in which psychological screening is essential, further research is needed.
AB - Objective: Guidelines for supportive care in cancer patients have recommended routine psychological screening in clinical practice, and a Japanese national project has recommended screening for depression using the Distress and Impact Thermometer. However, a previous study advocating the validity of the Distress and Impact Thermometer may have overestimated its effectiveness, as the study included already-treated patients who were not screening targets. This study reevaluated the performance and usefulness of the Distress and Impact Thermometer using an adequate sample size and appropriate study design. Methods: Patients were consecutively recruited at two highly specialized hospitals and three university hospitals in Japan. Inclusion criteria were (i) undergoing aggressive anti-cancer treatment, (ii) the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status score < 3 and (iii) age > 20 years. Patients who were receiving psychiatric treatment were excluded from the study. After completing the Distress and Impact Thermometer, patients were evaluated with the gold-standard Composite International Diagnostic Interview by researchers who were blinded to the patients' Distress and Impact Thermometer scores. Results: Forty-four patients (9%) who were receiving psychiatric treatment were excluded. Of 468 subjects included in the final analysis, only 3 had current depression (0.6%). Using cutoff points recommended by the previous study, the positive and negative predictive values were 0.02 and 0.99, respectively. Conclusions: Our data indicated that screening for untreated depression in cancer patients was not useful in the specific clinical settings that were studied, and such screening should be implemented in appropriate contexts. Since there are no evidence-based recommendations regarding contexts in which psychological screening is essential, further research is needed.
KW - Depression
KW - Diagnosis
KW - Neoplasms
KW - Psycho-oncology
KW - Questionnaires
KW - Sensitivity and specificity
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85014322579&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85014322579&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/jjco/hyw104
DO - 10.1093/jjco/hyw104
M3 - Article
VL - 46
SP - 993
EP - 999
JO - Japanese Journal of Clinical Oncology
JF - Japanese Journal of Clinical Oncology
SN - 0368-2811
IS - 11
ER -