Depressive symptoms during and after radiotherapy for head and neck cancer.

Background: Patients with head and neck cancer are extraordinarily susceptible to depressive traits. Thus, a general screening of these patients at their first admission to the ital is desirable.

Methods: From 1997-2001, 133 patients with head and neck tumors filled in the Self-Rating-Depression-Scale (SDS) at the beginning and end of radiotherapy (ti1/ti2), 6 weeks, and 6 months after radiotherapy (ti3/ti4).

Psychosocial stress in cancer patients during and after radiotherapy.

Background And Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate stress in tumor patients by means of a cancer-specific questionnaire in the course of radiotherapy.

Material And Methods: Disease-specific aspects of psychosocial stress (Herschbach's Questionnaire on Stress in Cancer Patients, QSC) were self-assessed by patients with different tumor types before radiotherapy (ti1), after radiotherapy (ti2), and 6 weeks after the end of radiotherapy (ti3). We investigated 265 of 446 patients (157 male, 108 female; median age 58.

Only sociodemographic variables predict quality of life after radiography in patients with head-and-neck cancer.

Purpose: Psychosocial factors influence patient compliance and have an effect on survival. Identifying patients at risk of decreased quality of life (QOL) with no extra expenditure in terms of hospital staff time or resources is mandatory to plan psychosocial support.

Methods And Materials: Between 1997 and 2000, 242 patients with head-and-neck cancer (30% pharyngeal, 29% oropharyngeal, and 13% laryngeal cancer) were screened.