When a cancer diagnosis is confirmed, the impact can be so devastating that a patient can lapse into depression.
But while dealing with mental health can seem like less of a priority, any sign of related depression should be nipped in the bud, going by the findings of a study of around 265,000 cancer patients in the United States.
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According to study lead author and University of California San Diego radiation oncologist Dr Edmund Qiao, “psychotherapy soon after diagnosis” can be associated with a lower death rate.
The findings, which showed that only 3% of US cancer patients received timely treatment for depression, were presented on Sept 28 (2026) at the American Society for Radiation Oncology (Astro) conference in Boston.
The researchers also found that patients with major depressive disorder had a higher risk of dying from their cancer, while those who received psychotherapy within four weeks of their cancer diagnosis had a 21% lower risk of cancer-specific death.
The study, which covered breast, colorectal, prostate, bladder, kidney and non-small cell lung cancer, revealed that patients suffering from depression had an 11% higher risk of cancer-specific death than those without depression in the aftermath of diagnosis.
One year on, 29% of patients with depression had died from their cancer, compared with 21% of patients without.
After five years, it was 43% versus 35%.
“These findings support identifying patients who may need mental health care and connecting them with appropriate services as early as possible,” said Dr Qiao.
“Depression is common among people facing cancer, but it is often under-recognised and undertreated,” said Astro expert and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center radiation oncologist Dr Fumiko Chin, who was not involved in the study. – dpa
