Breast cancer represents a paradigmatic model of precision oncology, with treatment strategies increasingly guided by molecular profiling and biomarker-driven targeted therapies. Despite these advances in biological personalization, clinical outcomes...
Personalized psycho-oncology represents a major challenge for the holistic care of cancer patients. It focuses on individualized psychotherapeutic and psychiatric interventions to address specific psychological needs. This narrative review summarizes...
(1) Background: A bibliometric review of psycho-oncology research is overdue. (2) Methods: The 100 most-cited journal articles were compiled and ranked according to Scopus. (3) Results: The total citation count for the results ranged from 488–8509 (M...
Patients with head and neck cancer face important life-altering effects in appearance and function, affecting distress and quality of life and requiring the involvement of a multidisciplinary team. Psycho-oncology makes an important contribution to t...
(1) Background: International cancer treatment guidelines recommend low-threshold psycho-oncological support based on nurses’ routine distress screening (e.g., via the distress thermometer and problem list). This study aims to explore factors w...
Background and Objectives: Breast cancer remains one of the most prevalent malignancies affecting women and one of the most emotionally distressing diagnoses. Emerging evidence suggests that chronic psychological stress may influence cancer progressi...
Emotion dysregulation is regarded as a driving mechanism for the development of mental health problems and psychopathology. The role of emotion regulation (ER) in the management of cancer distress and quality of life (QoL) has recently been recognize...
Quality of life (QOL) is an important indicator of human satisfaction and well-being. QOL is significantly and persistently affected for patients after a cancer diagnosis. Despite some evidence suggesting that psycho-oncologic interventions can provi...
Up to 40% of neuro-oncological patients already deal with high levels of distress under conventional circumstances. Due to COVID-19, pandemic hospital visitor rules have been restricted and patients did not receive the same level of supporting caregi...
Background: Psycho-oncological support (PO) is an effective measure to reduce distress and improve the quality of life in patients with cancer. Currently, there are only a few studies investigating the (expressed) wish for PO. The aim of this study w...
Starting from statistical data derived from the oncological field, some articles have highlighted the importance of communication in the patient–caregiver dyad and have considered the various roles involved in a cancer diagnosis situation. Thus, the...
28 January 2022
High-quality patient information material (PIM) is essential for patients´ informed decision-making, and its quality may influence a care program’s acceptance. In the new psycho-oncological care program, isPO, the initial PIM was develope...
Cancer causes psychological distress. Approximately one-third of all patients with cancer suffer from distress requiring psycho-oncological treatment. Examining factors contributing to their distress can inform approaches to counteracting them. Among...
Objective: Neurooncological patients are well-known to experience an increased psycho-oncological burden with a negative impact on distress, therapy adherence, quality of life, and finally survival. But still, psycho-oncological screening and support...
11 May 2021
Cancer is a very distressing disease, not only for the patients themselves, but also for their family members and relatives. Therefore, patients are regularly monitored to decide whether psychological treatment is necessary and applicable. However, s...
Background/Objectives: Patients with breast cancer show substantial heterogeneity in terms of psychological adjustment following diagnosis. We aimed to characterize longitudinal trajectories of quality of life (QoL) and depressive symptoms during the...
Background: Primary fallopian tube carcinoma (PFTC) is a rare gynecologic malignancy, and data describing its biopsychosocial characteristics remain limited. Understanding the biological, psychological, and social features of affected women may suppo...
Urological cancers are associated with reduced quality of life and high psychological burden, yet affected patients receive less psychosocial support than other cancer groups. Electronic health literacy (eHL) may facilitate independent access to reso...
Background/Objectives: A cancer diagnosis and its subsequent treatment constitute one of the most psychologically demanding experiences a patient can face, and decades of psycho-oncology research have documented an elevated burden of depression, anxi...
In this study, we applied the actor–partner interdependence model (APIM) to explore the associations between personality traits (Big Five) and psychological flexibility, on the one hand, and depression and anxiety, on the other hand, among pati...
17 October 2023
During the COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing restricted psycho-oncological care. Therefore, this secondary analysis examines the changes in anxiety, fear of progression, fatigue, and depression in cancer patients after a video-based eHealth interv...
12 April 2022
Breast cancer is the malignancy with the highest incidence in women worldwide. The empirical evidence is inconsistent with the prevalence of depression among breast cancer survivors (BCS), pointing to emotional competencies as protective factors agai...
Psychological distress is an extremely relevant phenomenon in cancer patients due to its high prevalence, especially when cancer diagnoses are increasingly frequent. It is estimated that only one-third of patients with clinically significant levels o...
11 June 2022
The aim of this qualitative research is to deepen the knowledge in the field of psycho-oncology and the consequences of chronic and persistent pain by listening to patients’ experiences, their emotions and difficulties in facing this hard condi...
The paradigm shift toward precision oncology in advanced breast cancer has increased therapeutic complexity, prolonging survival for many patients while simultaneously expanding the temporal burden associated with cancer care. Time toxicity, defined...
Background: Cancer, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and psychiatric comorbidities such as depression and anxiety frequently coexist, with shared mechanisms involving systemic inflammation and neuroinflammatory pathways. Understanding these interacti...
Background/Objectives: Immune checkpoint inhibitors have transformed oncology by inducing unexpected and sustained remissions in some patients; however, this atypical survival may be accompanied by significant psychosocial and existential challenges....
Background/Objectives: Pancreatic cancer is associated with poor survival and substantial psychosocial burden, yet little is known about the psychological, emotional, and social dimensions of patients’ experiences across the illness trajectory....
Lymphoid neoplasms such as multiple myeloma (MM), indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and chronic lymphocytic leukemia are increasingly managed as chronic, relapsing conditions characterized by prolonged surveillance, repeated treatment transitions, and c...
Background/Objective: Pelvic exenteration (PE) is a radical procedure with significant physical and psychosocial consequences. Despite increasing survival rate following PE, quality of life (QoL) outcomes remain inconsistently reported and poorly und...
(1) Receiving an oncological diagnosis involves countless physical and mental challenges for those who become ill. In addition to this, developmental activities are put on hold when a parent becomes ill, significantly impairing children’s norma...
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in unprecedented changes to the lives of patients with cancer. To evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health and well-being of patients with colorectal cancer, we conducted a prospective longi...
Long-term psychological stress drives breast cancer progression through neuroendocrine, immune, and gut microbiota (GM) dysbiosis. Preclinical and clinical data link stress-induced depletion of Akkermansia muciniphila and its cross-fed metabolite, bu...
Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) provide effective treatment options for advanced melanoma patients. However, they are associated with high rates of immune-related side effects. There are no data on the distress of melanoma patients dur...
The landscape of cancer survivorship has changed considerably from Fitzhugh Mullan’s conceptualization of the three sequential phases or ‘seasons of survival’ that an individual might expect to pass through, from the acute (cancer d...
29 May 2023
(1) Background: The study was aimed at a better understanding of the factors determining making a decision to become a potential bone marrow donor, in a Polish research sample; (2) Methods: The data was collected using a self-report questionnaire amo...
Objectives: Germline genetic testing is increasingly being integrated into pediatric oncology and a large number of families are interested. Current research on the psychological impact of germline genetic testing is limited by a main focus on indivi...
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to describe the psychosocial needs of cancer survivors and examine whether sociodemographic factors and health care providers accessed are associated with needs being met. Methods: All Nova Scotia survivors meeti...
Having a child diagnosed with a life-threatening illness, and undergoing a severe treatment regimen, is a massive challenge for many caregivers, not the least of who are those with low socioeconomic status and living in a society where deeply rooted...
Introduction: Adolescent/young adult (AYA) patients with metastatic soft tissue sarcoma (STS) typically face a dismal prognosis. However, a subset of patients with incurable disease lives beyond two years. Due to the rarity of diagnoses and inherent...
Background and objectives: Cancer survivors continue to face significant psychological and quality-of-life challenges following the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to investigate levels of depression, anxiety, stress, quality of life, and perceiv...
Pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal malignancies. Currently, the only treatment is surgical resection, which contributes to significant preoperative anxiety, reducing quality of life and worsening surgical outcomes. To date, no standard preve...
To provide an effective alternative to sedation during MRI examinations in pediatric cancer and NF1 patients, the aims of the present study were to (1) exploratively evaluate a behavioral MRI training program, to (2) investigate potential moderators,...
Evidence-based practices facilitate the effective delivery of psychological services, yet research on the implementation of evidence-based practices in psychosocial oncology (PSO) is scarce. Responding to this gap, we interviewed a diverse sample of...
31 October 2026
The experience of cancer may compromise core psychological functions such as affect regulation, symbolization, and mentalization in patients and caregivers, while also generating psychological distress among healthcare professionals and affecting the...
Background: Stress is regarded as one of the natural and unavoidable elements of human life and, at the same time, one of the key determinants of physical and mental health. Stress is not a new phenomenon; it has accompanied human beings since the be...
Background/Objectives: A cancer diagnosis forces a rapid, often unwelcome reorganization of a patient’s sense of self, routines, and future plans, and patients vary considerably in how far they progress toward accepting that new reality. Person...
Background and Objectives: Exercise is increasingly used in supportive care for lung cancer, but its effects on depressive symptoms remain uncertain. This systematic review and meta-analysis synthesized randomized evidence. Materials and Methods: Fou...
Background: COVID-19 represents a threat both for the physical and psychological health of oncological patients experiencing heightened distress levels to which the fear of the virus is also added. Moreover, fear of COVID-19 could lead oncological pa...
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted cancer care to a certain degree. There is objective evidence that COVID-19 outbreaks are causing substantial emotional distress among cancer patients regardless of their disease severity. This study aims to measure...
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