Background: Anxiety and depression, two of the most common affective disorders in cancer patients can affect one’s compliance to treatment leading to poorer outcomes. Therefore, means of determining the psychological wellness of cancer patients through screening tools for anxiety and depression are an integral part of their management. Objectives: 1) To measure the prevalence of anxiety and depression among cancer patients seen in an outpatient clinic of a tertiary hospital using the HADS-P. 2) To assess the impact of the following variables on symptoms of anxiety and depression: demographic, socio-economic, biological and health/clinical parameters. Methodology: This is a cross-sectional analytic study involving 381 cancer patients seen in the outpatient clinic. Symptoms of anxiety and depression were measured using the HADS-P with an 11+ cut-off to identify possible cases of anxiety and depression. Univariate analysis, using STATA Version 13, was performed to identify correlates of anxiety and depression. Results: The prevalence of anxiety, depression and mixed diagnosis (anxiety and depression) amongst this study population were 9.45%,4.72% & 2.89%, respectively. The multivariate analysis described non-college graduates (OR=1.82, CI 0.80-4.14), poor performance status (ECOG 2-3) (OR=5.34, CI 2.44-11.71) and the newly diagnosed and with ongoing treatment patients (OR= 12.02, CI 2.67-54.04 and OR=4.04, CI 0.88-18.58, respectively) as possible correlates of anxiety. Patients with poor performance status and have moderate-severe pain were likely to experience depression (OR= 6.14, CI 2.14-17.62; OR= 2.78, CI 0.92-8.46, respectively). Conclusions There are several factors that can affect one’s predisposition to having affective disorders. Clearly, there is a necessity to allocate resources for screening and treating affective disorders among cancer patients to improve their compliance, to achieve a more holistic approach in their management and ultimately, to improve their quality of life.
Anxiety ; Depression

INTRODUCTION: Indolent lymphoma (IL) is a slowly growing lymphoma, generally refractory to conventional chemotherapy. There are several types of IL, which includes follicular lymphoma (FL), marginal zone lymphoma (MZL), small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL), mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), and waldenstrom macroglobulinemia/ lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma (WM/LPL). Presently, there are no known data in the Philippines on IL. This study is done to determine the clinico-pathologic profile and outcomes of Filipino patients with IL.

METHODS: This study is a retrospective chart review of outpatient department cases of IL seen at the Philippine General Hospital-Cancer Institute from January 2009 to January 2016. The following were documented: age; gender; primary location; presence or absence of B symptoms; type of IL; Ann-arbor stage; prognostic indices for FL and MCL; and staging with bone marrow aspiration and whole body CT scan. Treatment intervention and clinical outcomes were documented.

RESULTS: This study showed that SLL was the most common IL. Most were elderly (>40 years old); male; lacked B symptoms; limited disease; and primary location at or near the orbital area. MCL were seen in all risk groups. Follicular lymphoma (FL) were mostly low risk and had grade one histology. Majority had disease control regardless of treatment intervention. Most patients with recurrence/progression after initial treatment had limited disease but were understaged. Most of the patients were not staged with bone marrow aspiration or whole body computed tomography.

CONCLUSION: The results of this study are mostly consistent with known literature on IL. Absence of B symptoms and limited disease may indicate a low-grade histology. Observation was the most common option for asymptomatic patients.

 

Human ; Male ; Female ; Aged ; Middle Aged ; Adult ; Young Adult ; Lymphoma, Follicular ; Lymphoma, Mantle-cell ; Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-cell ; Waldenstrom Macroglobulinemia ; Prognosis ; Bone Marrow ; Hospitals, General ; Outpatients ; Philippines ; Lymphoma, B-cell, Marginal Zone ; Tomography, X-ray Computed ; Prefrontal Cortex ; Tomography