Hope and its associated factors in cancer patients undergoing drug therapy: a systematic review.

Objective: This study seeks to clarify the hope of cancer patients undergoing drug therapy and related factors through a systematic review.

Methods: References were searched and selected in accordance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses.

Results: Thirteen articles were selected. A meta-analysis found that the overall Herth Hope Index score for cancer patients undergoing drug therapy averaged 35.64 points. The hope of cancer patients was associated with anxiety/depression and quality of life (QOL). It was also associated with personal attributes such as age, family structure, economic situation, educational level, social support, internal factors such as coping, self-esteem, optimism, self-confidence, locus of control, etc., as well as disease/treatment-related factors such as the purpose of treatment, general condition, presence or absence of metastasis, symptoms, survival period, and estimated life expectancy.

Conclusion: Anxiety/depression, QOL, and other factors were found to be related to cancer patients' hope. In the future, studies that clarify the overall structure of various factors related to hope and longitudinal studies will be necessary.