Treatment of depression in cancer patients

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Abstract
One hundred and fifty‐two women undergoing mastectomy were randomly assigned to routine care or routine care plus monitoring by a specialist nurse. The nurse detected and referred 76% of her patients for psychiatric help. Only 15% of the routine care subjects that warranted help were referred. Twelve to eighteen months after surgery, morbid anxiety and depression were less common in the monitored (5% and 5%) than in the control (30% and 50%) group. This difference appeared to be due primarily to psychiatric treatment which included antidepressant medication, anxiolytic drugs, and supportive psychotherapy. Few affective disorders remitted without such treatment. In a further study, the effects of antidepressant medication plus cognitive therapy and cognitive therapy alone were compared. Both treatments alleviated depression in the short term but the improvement was sustained in the long term only in those given combined treatment.