Management of Anxiety and Depression in Adult Cancer Patients: Toward an Evidence-Based Approach.

Anxiety and depression can be viewed as part of a broader construct of psychologic distress. We chose to focus on anxiety and depression rather than on psychologic distress for several reasons. First, the literature on anxiety and depression can be more readily identified than the literature on the broader and less well defined construct of psychologic distress. Second, as described in the following, criteria have been established for the diagnosis of clinical syndromes of anxiety and depression; no similar criteria exist for the diagnosis of clinical syndromes of psychologic distress. Third, as described here, this approach allows us to build upon the findings of several previous systematic reviews and meta-analyses that also have focused on psychosocial and pharmacologic approaches to the management of anxiety and depression in adult cancer patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]