Psychological Distress, Fatigue and Quality of Life in Patients with Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors

Global status of research on gastrointestinal cancer patients' quality of life: A bibliometric and visual analysis from 2003 to 2023

Objective

To analyze the current research status, hotspots, and frontiers in the field of Gastrointestinal (GI) cancer and quality of life (QoL) through the bibliometrics method, and to provide references and guidance for future research.

Methods

Literature related to GI cancer and QoL from April 1, 2003 to March 31, 2023 was retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection database. CiteSpace 6.2.R1 was performed for collaboration analysis, keyword co-occurrence analysis, and document co-citation analysis.

Results

A total of 1224 publications were included in this study. There has been a significant increase in the number of publications in this field over the past two decades. The United States, the Karolinska Institute and the University of Amsterdam, and Pernilla Lagergren are the most prolific country, institution, and author, respectively. The links between most of the research constituents were relatively thin (centrality <0.1). The keyword analysis indicates that the benefits of physical activity on QoL, the levels of psychological distress and its relationship with QoL, as well as the development and validation of QoL measurement tools have been the research hotspots. Open-label/double-blind trials exploring therapeutic interventions and more targeted new drugs or more effective drug combinations, and longitudinal studies determining the direction of the association between psychological distress and QoL at different time points, may be emerging trends in this field.

Conclusion

The cooperation among countries, institutions, and authors in this field should be strengthened. In addition, the health benefits of light physical activity, interventions for QoL, trajectory and direction of the relationship between psychological distress and QoL may be the focus of future research.

Fear, anxiety and depression in gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) patients in the Netherlands: Data from a cross-sectional multicenter study

Background

This study aims to (1) investigate the prevalence of anxiety, depression and severe fear of cancer recurrence or progression in gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) patients treated in a curative or palliative setting, (2) compare their prevalence with a norm population, (3) identify factors associated with anxiety, depression and severe fear, and (4) study the impact of these psychological symptoms on health-related quality of life (HRQoL).

Methods

In a cross-sectional study, GIST patients completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Cancer Worry Scale, and EORTC QLQ-C30.

Results

Of the 328 patients, 15% reported anxiety, 13% depression, and 43% had severe fear. Anxiety and depression levels were comparable between the norm population and patients in the curative setting, but significantly higher for patients in the palliative setting. Having other psychological symptoms was associated with anxiety, while current TKI treatment and anxiety were associated with depression. Severe fear was associated with age, female sex, palliative treatment setting, anxiety, and GIST-related concerns.

Conclusion

GIST patients treated in a palliative setting are more prone to experience psychological symptoms, which can significantly impair their HRQoL. These symptoms deserve more attention in clinical practice, in which regular screening can be helpful, and appropriate interventions should be offered.