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Objective: Ovarian cancer is characterized by poor prognosis, high levels of distress, disturbed sleep, and compromised quality of life (QOL). Although life stressors have been shown to significantly impact physical and psychological health in cancer populations, no studies have used a high-resolution stress assessment to differentiate effects of acute versus chronic stressors among women with ovarian cancer. We addressed this issue in the present prospective longitudinal study by examining how acute and chronic stress exposure in the year pre-diagnosis relate to depressive symptoms, sleep quality, and QOL over the first year post-diagnosis in women with ovarian cancer.Methods: One hundred thirty-seven women completed the Life Events and Difficulties Schedule within a month of initial treatment for suspected ovarian cancer. Depressive symptoms, sleep, and QOL were measured pre-treatment, at six months, and one-year post-diagnosis. Mixed models were used to examine associations of acute and chronic stress pre-diagnosis with (a) change in psychosocial outcomes over the first year post-diagnosis and (b) levels of psychosocial outcomes across all time points.Results: Both the number and severity of chronic difficulties (but not acute life events) were related to significantly greater depression, and poorer sleep quality and QOL, across all time-points. In contrast, these stress indices were unrelated to changes in psychosocial functioning over time.Conclusions: Chronic but not acute stress exposure predicted average levels of depression, sleep, and QOL in the first year post-diagnosis among women with ovarian cancer. Assessing stressors and designing interventions for reducing stress may thus be beneficial for ovarian cancer patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND Sleep disturbance is a common clinical complaint of oncology patients and contributes to substantial morbidity. However, because most sleep studies have been cross-sectional, associations between sleep quality and distress in patients with ovarian cancer over time remain unclear. This prospective longitudinal study examined rates of sleep disturbance; contributions of depression, anxiety, and medication use in sleep disturbance; and associations between sleep quality and quality of life (QOL) during the first year after diagnosis among women with ovarian cancer. METHODS Women with a pelvic mass completed measures of sleep quality, depression, anxiety, and QOL before surgery. Those diagnosed with primary epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or peritoneal cancer repeated surveys at 6 months and 1 year after diagnosis. Mixed modeling was used to examine trajectories of psychosocial measures over time, as well as associations between changes in distress and sleep quality. Relationships between changes in sleep and QOL were also examined. RESULTS The majority of patients reported disturbed global sleep (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index > 5) at all 3 time points. Medications for sleep and pain were associated with worse sleep at all time points. Greater increases in depression were associated with increased disturbances in sleep quality over time ( P < .04). Worsening sleep was also associated with declines in QOL over time ( P < .001). CONCLUSIONS Sleep disturbance is common and persistent in women with ovarian cancer, and is linked to depressive symptoms and QOL. Pharmacologic treatment does not appear to adequately address this problem. Results highlight the need for ongoing screening and intervention for sleep disturbance in this population. Cancer 2013;119:3234-3241. © 2013 American Cancer Society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A response from the authors of the article "Clinical impact of selective and nonselective beta-blockers on survival in patients with ovarian cancer" that was published in a 2015 issue is presented.