Prostate cancer peer navigation: an observational study on navigators' well-being, benefit finding, and program satisfaction.

Purpose: The study investigated peer and caregiver navigators' motivations for providing support, i.e., benefit finding, their mental and physical health, and program satisfaction.

Evaluation of two evidence-based decision aids for female BRCA1/2 mutation carriers in Germany: study protocol for a randomised controlled parallel-group trial.

Background: Women with BRCA1/2 mutations have a higher risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer compared to women of the general population. Various preventive options are available to deal with the increased risk of developing cancer. These include intensified breast cancer screening and risk-reducing bilateral mastectomy and salpingo-oophorectomy.

Development of decision aids for female BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers in Germany to support preference-sensitive decision-making.

Background: Women with pathogenic BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations possess a high risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer. They face difficult choices when considering preventive options. This study presents the development process of the first decision aids to support this complex decision-making process in the German healthcare system.

On the uniqueness of, and diversity within, cancers: A commentary on Kangas and Gross 2018.

This commentary accompanies publication of Kangas and Gross' phase model of emotion coping throughout the process of cancer care. While supporting the model, this commentary additionally highlights the already existing knowledge about the critical role of tumor stage, patient age, uncertainty and fear of recurrence, and gender differences. It is briefly described how all of these factors moderate and mediate the emotion coping process.

Anxiety After Diagnosis Predicts Lung Cancer-Specific and Overall Survival in Patients With Stage III Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Population-Based Cohort Study.

Context: The question as to whether anxiety and depression are related to mortality in patients with lung cancer is inconclusive.

Objectives: Therefore, the present study is examining associations of anxiety and depression in a large representative sample of patients with Stage III non-small cell lung cancer.

Methods: Patients (n = 684) were routinely assessed for anxiety and depression with the PsychoSocial Screen for Cancer questionnaire after diagnosis of lung cancer and before treatment initiation between 2004 and 2010.

Emotional adjustment over 1 year post-diagnosis in patients with cancer: understanding and predicting adjustment trajectories.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of basic trajectories in emotional adjustment in cancer survivors and identify predictors of long-term change.

Methods: We assessed 421 patients with cancer after diagnosis and 6 and 12 months later. Measures comprised anxiety, depression, perceived support, desired support, and illness intrusiveness.

Measuring symptoms in gastrointestinal cancer: a systematic review of assessment instruments.

Purpose: It is critical for gastrointestinal cancer researchers and clinicians to have access to comprehensive, sensitive and simple-to-use symptom measures that allow them to understand and quantify the subjective patient experience. Development and validation of such scales requires training in psychometrics and occasionally uses technical jargon that can be difficult to penetrate. This review evaluates existing measures of gastrointestinal cancer symptoms, provides tool descriptions, and uses predefined, objective quality criteria to rate psychometric quality and facilitate tool choices for researchers and clinicians.

Prospective associations of depression with survival: a population-based cohort study in patients with newly diagnosed breast cancer.

Psychological factors may influence survival in breast cancer patients but results of previous research are inconclusive. This prospective population-based study tested whether depression predicts mortality in breast cancer patients. Routinely collected depression screening data were merged with electronically archived provincial cancer registry data and censored data from British Columbia Vital Statistics (extracted in December 2012).

Measuring symptoms in localized prostate cancer: a systematic review of assessment instruments.

It is critical for prostate cancer researchers and clinicians to have access to comprehensive, sensitive and simple-to-use symptom measures that allow them to understand and quantify the subjective patient experience. The purpose of the current review is to provide a comprehensive review, detailed tool descriptions and objectively defined quality criteria to facilitate tool choices for patients with localized prostate cancer. Using a systematic web-based literature search, we found n=29 prostate symptom measures described in n=35 validation studies.

Correlation of thyroid hormone, retinoid X, peroxisome proliferator-activated, vitamin D and oestrogen/progesterone receptors in breast carcinoma.

Non-steroidal nuclear receptors play a major role in breast cancer development. A correlation among, and possible prognostic function of, the members of the nuclear receptor superfamily has been discussed controversially over the years. Hence, we conducted a quantification of the different expression levels of the thyroid receptor (TR), retinoid X receptor (RXR), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) and vitamin D receptor (VDR) in malignant breast tumour tissue samples.

A retrospective investigation of women's experience with breast reconstruction after mastectomy.

Purpose: A diagnosis of breast cancer is often accompanied by the fear of loss of previous body image and attractiveness. Hence, many patients opt for reconstructive surgery. This study evaluated the effects of different types of reconstructive surgery after mastectomy on the functional and psychological adjustment of patients.

Familial breast cancer: less emotional distress in adult daughters if they provide emotional support to their affected mother.

Associations of characteristics of the cancer context (residence with the mother, age at mother's cancer diagnosis or death, recency of mother's diagnosis or death) and the familial cancer experience (engagement in caregiving, emotional support receipt and provision during the mother's illness) with psychological adjustment were studied cross-sectionally in women at high risk for breast cancer (n = 147). Characteristics of the cancer context and engagement in caregiving for the mother's illness were not associated with psychological adjustment. Adult daughters who reported that they had provided emotional support to her mother (p = .

Dose-dense intensified sequential versus conventionally-dosed anthracycline and taxane-containing neoadjuvant therapy in patients with inflammatory breast cancer.

Background: This post-hoc analysis aimed to compare an intense dose-dense sequential chemotherapy (DD-CT) and a conventionally-dosed chemotherapy (CD-CT) in the neoadjuvant AGO-1 study, focusing on the subgroup with inflammatory breast cancer (IBC).

Patients And Methods: Out of 668 randomised patients, 101 patients presented with IBC. Patients received epirubicin followed by paclitaxel every 2 weeks (DD-CT) or simultaneously every 3 weeks (CD-CT).

Anxiety and depression after cancer diagnosis: prevalence rates by cancer type, gender, and age.

Background: Reported prevalence of emotional distress in cancer patients varies widely across studies. The present study determined prevalence of anxiety and depression (separated for presence of symptoms versus clinical levels) in a large, representative sample of cancer patients after diagnosis.

Method: During the years 2004-2009, 10,153 consecutive patients were routinely screened with the Psychosocial Screen for Cancer questionnaire at two major cancer centers.

Disease stage predicts post-diagnosis anxiety and depression only in some types of cancer.

Background: We hypothesised that patients with advanced disease or a cancer type that has a poor prognosis may be more likely to report anxiety and depressive symptoms after diagnosis; younger age and female gender may moderate these effects.

Methods: Patients (n=3850) were consecutively assessed with PSSCAN, a standardised, validated tool, at two large cancer centres between 2004 and 2009.

Results: Female patients reported more anxiety and depressive symptoms (P=0.

Accuracy of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale as a screening tool in cancer patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Purpose: The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) is the most extensively validated scale for screening emotional distress in cancer patients. However, thresholds for clinical decision making vary widely across studies. A meta-analysis was conducted with the aim of identifying optimal, empirically derived cut-offs.

Mismatch of desired versus perceived social support and associated levels of anxiety and depression in newly diagnosed cancer patients.

Purpose: Perceived social support serves as a buffer against stress in cancer patients as well as in the healthy. However, not all individuals low in support necessarily want more support. We, therefore, tested a match-mismatch model (low versus high perceived support relative to low versus high desired support) with regard to its association with emotional distress.

How and for whom are decision aids effective? Long-term psychological outcome of a randomized controlled trial in women with newly diagnosed breast cancer.

Objective: The current study evaluates the long-term psychological impact of a decision aid intervention for surgical and systemic treatment in women with newly diagnosed breast cancer from a previous reported randomized, controlled trial (Vodermaier et al., 2009).

Methods: Patients (n = 111) were randomized into usual care, or a 20-min decision aid intervention plus an information brochure prior to consultation planning with the senior physician.

Pancreatic cancer risk counselling and screening: impact on perceived risk and psychological functioning.

Individuals at increased risk for pancreatic cancer who undergo screening can experience psychological and emotional distress. The objective of this study is to determine whether individuals participating in a pancreatic cancer screening program experience disruptions in risk perception, cancer-related anxiety or emotional distress. A pretestposttest design was used to examine perceived risk and psychological functioning of individuals participating in a pancreatic cancer screening protocol.

Can self-esteem, mastery and perceived stigma predict long-term adjustment in women carrying a BRCA1/2-mutation? Evidence from a multi-center study.

Little is known about protective and vulnerability factors of long-term adjustment with BRCA1/2 carrier status. Specifically, the role of personal resources and perceptions of stigmatization have not been studied in the context of adjustment with hereditary breast cancer. The present study, therefore, explored associations of personal resources and stigma with cancer-specific anxiety in female BRCA1/2-carriers within a cross-sectional multi-center study.

Screening for emotional distress in cancer patients: a systematic review of assessment instruments.

Screening for emotional distress is becoming increasingly common in cancer care. This systematic review examines the psychometric properties of the existing tools used to screen patients for emotional distress, with the goal of encouraging screening programs to use standardized tools that have strong psychometrics. Systematic searches of MEDLINE and PsycINFO databases for English-language studies in cancer patients were performed using a uniform set of key words (eg, depression, anxiety, screening, validation, and scale), and the retrieved studies were independently evaluated by two reviewers.

Breast cancer treatment and cognitive function: the current state of evidence, underlying mechanisms and potential treatments.

Within the last decade, several studies have investigated whether adjuvant treatment of breast cancer affects cognitive function. A number of prospective studies have demonstrated inconsistent results regarding whether chemotherapy affects cognitive function. Approximately half of the studies demonstrated subtle cognitive decline in a wide range of domains among some breast cancer patients following chemotherapy, and half did not.

Contextual factors in shared decision making: a randomised controlled trial in women with a strong suspicion of breast cancer.

Decision aids in North American breast cancer outpatients have been shown to assist with treatment decision making and reduce decisional conflict. To date, appropriate delivery formats to effectively increase patient participation in newly diagnosed breast cancer inpatients have not been investigated in the context of German health care provision. The impact of a decision aid intervention was studied in patients (n=111) with a strong suspicion of breast cancer in a randomised controlled trial.