Depression as a predictor of disease progression and mortality in cancer patients

Cancer patients and oncologists believe that psychological variables influence the course of cancer, but the evidence remains inconclusive. This meta-analysis assessed the extent to which depressive symptoms and major depressive disorder predict disease progression and mortality in cancer patients.

Using the MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and EMBASE online databases, the authors identified prospective studies that examined the association between depressive symptoms or major/minor depression and risk of disease progression or mortality in cancer patients. Two raters independently extracted effect sizes using a random effects model.