Prospective assessment of psychopathological symptoms and their relation to demographic factors in primary caregivers of cancer patients throughout chemotherapy.

Purpose: The present study aims to investigate the course of psychological symptoms through chemotherapy in a sample of primary caregivers of patients with cancer and to examine all possible correlations between psychological distress and demographic characteristics.

Methods: In this prospective study, 112 primary family caregivers of cancer patients were evaluated. Symptom checklist 90 revised (SCL-90-R) was administered to assess their pathological symptoms, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) to assess depression and anxiety.