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10070 Background: Convergent findings indicate the need of broadening the vision of cancer beyond known prognostic factors, as many variables of different nature equally affect the course of disease. Loneliness has been found to be associated with various health outcomes, but its relationship with cancer remains unclear. Here we aimed to investigate the specific effect of loneliness and other demographic, psychological, and clinical variables on cancer mortality and to validate the Italian UCLA Loneliness Scale in cancer patients. Methods: This descriptive and correlational study was conducted at the Veneto Institute of Oncology in Padua. 400 patients undergoing chemotherapy from 01/2014 to 06/2015 were enrolled. The sample was stratified by sex and age (4 groups, 40-80 y). We collected demographic, clinical (site and stage of cancer, type of chemotherapy, death date), and psychosocial [self-esteem (RSE), perceived social support (MSPSS), social interaction anxiety (SIAS), personality (EPQR), and depression (BDI)] data. Results: GLM analyses: loneliness was higher in women than men (F(1,398) = 7.5, p = .006) and it linearly increased with age (F(1,398) = 10.9, p = .001). Loneliness was also influenced by marital status (F(3,396) = 2.9, p = .037), cohabitant offspring (F(1,398) = 7, p = .008), and educational level (F(3,396) = 4.7, p = .003), but not by clinical variables (all ps > .05). Correlation analyses: loneliness was inversely related to RSE (r = -.51), MSPSS (r = -.52), and extroversion (r = -.32), and directly related to SIAS (r = .46), neuroticism (r = .43), and BDI (r = .44). More importantly, a hierarchical binomial logistic regression revealed that patients’ mortality was reliably predicted by gender, stage of cancer at diagnosis, time from diagnosis to UCLA collection, BDI, and UCLA (HL χ2(8) = 3.53, p = .90). In particular, high BDI predicted higher mortality (Wald = 11.6, p < .001); surprisingly, after controlling for BDI and other effects, high loneliness predicted lower mortality (Wald = 7, p = .008). Conclusions: Our results replicate prior research and reveal a surprising association between loneliness and mortality risk after partialling out the impact of, especially, depression. This suggests the role of loneliness on cancer course as an important health concern.

Assisting a patient with cancer implies assuming a role that may fit in with the previous role of the person or that may contrast with it, thereby provoking suffering. This research explores if it is possible to identify different profiles of caregivers on the basis of different levels of anxiety and depression as well as on different ways of distributing one's own dependency.There were 50 Italian primary caregivers of patients with cancer who completed the Beck Anxiety Inventory, the Beck Depression Inventory-II, and Kelly's Dependency Grids. Cluster analysis was conducted on the indices derived from the three instruments.Three profiles were found on the basis of how the caregivers used their resources to give and to receive help. If there was congruence between the situation of giving help that the caregivers experienced and their personal role, then anxiety and depression decreased, otherwise, they increased. The implications of the balance/imbalance between the usual and the present role depended also on the typicality of the caregivers' experience, as related to their caring role.These results suggest the usefulness of planning different kinds of support for different experiences of caregiving.