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Psychotherapy for cancer patients.
- Source :
-
International journal of psychiatry in medicine [Int J Psychiatry Med] 2016 Jul; Vol. 51 (5), pp. 414-430. - Publication Year :
- 2016
-
Abstract
- Objective Psychotherapy is a common non-pharmacological approach to help cancer patients in their psychological distress. The benefit of psychotherapies was documented, but the types of psychotherapies proposed are varied. Given that the previous literature review was a decade ago and no quantitative analysis was done on this topic, we again critically and systematically reviewed all published trials on psychotherapy in cancer patients. Method We identified 17 clinical trials on six types of psychotherapy for cancer patients by searching PubMed and EMBASE. Result There were four trials involved adjunct psychological therapy which were included in quantitative analysis. Each trial demonstrated that psychotherapy improved the quality of life and coping in cancer patients. There was also a reduction in distress, anxiety, and depression after a psychological intervention. However, the number and quality of clinical trials for each type of psychotherapy were poor. The meta-analysis of the four trials involved adjunct psychological therapy showed no significant change in depression, with only significant short-term improvement in anxiety but not up to a year-the standardized mean differences were -0.37 (95% confidence interval (CI) = -0.57, -0.16) at 2 months, -0.21 (95% CI = -0.42, -0.01) at 4 months, and 0.03 (95 % CI = -0.19, 0.24) at 12 months. Conclusion The evidence on the efficacy of psychotherapy in cancer patients is unsatisfactory. There is a need for more rigorous and well-designed clinical trials on this topic.
- Subjects :
- Anxiety complications
Anxiety psychology
Depression complications
Depression psychology
Humans
Neoplasms complications
Quality of Life psychology
Stress, Psychological complications
Stress, Psychological psychology
Treatment Outcome
Adaptation, Psychological
Anxiety therapy
Depression therapy
Neoplasms psychology
Psychotherapy methods
Stress, Psychological therapy
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1541-3527
- Volume :
- 51
- Issue :
- 5
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- International journal of psychiatry in medicine
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 28629286
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1177/0091217416680197