Oat cell carcinoma with hypercortisolemia presenting to a psychiatric hospital as a suicide attempt

Assessment and treatment of depression in the cancer patient

The prevalence, diagnosis, and treatment of depression in the cancer patient are reviewed. Although frequently encountered in the cancer patient population, depression often remains undiagnosed and untreated. This carries grave consequences in that depressed cancer patients experience a poorer quality of life, are less compliant with medical care, have longer hospital stays, and have higher mortality rates. Diagnostic assessment of depression in the cancer patient raises difficulties both upon phenomenological and etiological grounds. In particular, the presence of neurovegetative symptoms which may be secondary to either cancer or depression may cloud the diagnostic picture. Due to the serious consequences of unrecognized depression, a more sensitive inclusive approach to diagnosis is recommended in the clinical setting. Finally, the limited data regarding treatment of depression in patients with cancer is reviewed. This includes a discussion of both psychosocial and pharmacological interventions which are shown to alleviate depression, improve quality of life measures, improve immune function, and lengthen survival time.

Factors important to psychosocial adjustment to cancer: a review of the evidence

Systematic observations have revealed that cancer patients experience a wide array of emotional reactions. Because of limited helping resources, as well as the possibility of prevention, it would be useful to identify those cancer patients at risk for the development of significant psychiatric difficulties and psychosocial maladjustment. Many investigators have proposed, but not substantiated factors which seem to be associated with such problems following cancer diagnosis. This report reviews clinically noted or theoretically-derived factors which have been tested empirically for relationships with various aspects of psychosocial adjustment. Certain specific cancer sites have been noted to be associated with psychosocial problems. A specific biological basis for psychiatric problems associated with certain diseases has been proposed for multiple myeloma, lung tumors and pancreatic cancer. A number of chemotherapy agents are now recognized as accounting for presumed psychiatric symptoms. While studies relating age, sex, marital or socioeconomic status with psychosocial problems have found no consistent associations, social support has been demonstrated as a significant factor in adjustment to cancer. Studies of the relation of adaptation and the patient's psychological situation such as degree of pessimism or anxiety, personality characteristics, prior experience with the death of a close friend or relative or religious beliefs have been inconclusive. Many studies have used measures of questionable external validity and others employed unvalidated subjective ratings. It is only recently that there are instruments considered reliable and valid for research in this area and even these instruments have not been extensively validated. Finally, this paper reviews several major design problems which have impaired identification of predictive variables and provides suggestions for future research.

Psychiatric symptoms in cancer patients. Is the cause organic or psychologic?

Because cancer and its treatment have so many effects on the CNS, the diagnosis of psychiatric symptoms in cancer patients is problematic. Naturally there are psychologic and psychosocial issues that often sufficiently explain why a patient appears distressed. Dealing with psychologic adjustment is always an important part of the management of patients with severe medical, as opposed to psychiatric, illness, whether or not biologic components of the psychologic problem can be identified and addressed. The most frequent error physicians make in evaluating psychiatric symptoms is to assume that a psychologic explanation is sufficient. Expressions such as "Wouldn't you be depressed if you had cancer?" are often used to excuse failure to pursue further evaluation. Careful reviews of cases in which cancer patients were labeled as having psychologic problems have consistently shown a high incidence of misdiagnosis. Correct diagnosis and treatment of an underlying organic disorder can alleviate symptoms that impair the patient's innate coping resources, allowing him or her to grapple more effectively with adverse circumstances.

Suicide attempts by hospitalized medical and surgical patients

To characterize siucidal behavior among hospitalized medical and surgical patients, all suicide attempts in the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital were surveyed for seven years. Seventeen attempts occurred, non of them fatal. Only four patients were seriously ill, two with neoplasia. All the attempts were impulsive and were associated with stress and disturbances of impulse control. Anger, not depression, was the effect most often seen before the attempts. In all cases the precipitating stress was loss of emotional support. However, patient vulnerability to suicide seemed to be the key determinant. Fifteen patients had mental disorders, including eight with personality disorders, three with schizophrenia, three with organic brain syndromes, and one with manic depressive psychosis. Seven were psychotic, and six had made prior suicide attempts. These findings suggest that the characteristics of impulsive suicide should be considered when a suicide prevention program is being developed for a general hospital.