1665P - Awareness of illness, psychological difficulties, and resources across life ages in early stage and metastatic cancer patients

Background

Cancer can be differently approached at the various stage of life. The aim of the study was to explore the contribution of age on awareness, anxious/depressive symptoms, psychological functioning, and benefit findings in patients (pts) at early (ES) and advanced (AS) cancer stage.

Methods

A monocentric cross-sectional study was conducted. Pts were enrolled during the first session of a psychological support path. Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R), Hospital and Depression Anxiety Scale (HADS), Clinical Outcome in Routine Evaluation (CORE-OM) and Benefit Finding (BF) were administered. Descriptive statistics, non-parametric ANOVA and multinomial logistic regressions were conducted.

Results

Out of the 97 women and 19 men enrolled, 40% were adults (aged 27-54), 32% old adults (age 55-65), and 28% elderly (age 65-84); 71.2% were ES and 28.8% AS, with no significant age differences across subgroups. Participants reported moderate levels of beliefs, showing positive awareness, and benefit finding, with no significant differences across life stages. AS for HADS and CORE-OM, participants’ mean score exceeded anxiety, depression, and psychological difficulties clinical cutoff; although suicidal risk values scored lower the clinical cutoff at every life stage (mean=0.8, ds=1.67, mean=1.97, ds=2.25, mean=2.16, ds=3.37, respectively), elderly reported a significantly higher suicidal risk than the other subgroups (χ²=10.85, p<.05). Finally, regression analysis highlighted that elderly were more likely to be AS (Z=2.23, p<.05), perceive low levels of time cyclical nature of the disease (Z=-2.3, p<.05), and higher suicidal risk (Z=2.6, p<.01) than the younger participants.

Conclusions

Tailored interventions should focus on different patients’ life stages besides cancer diagnosis and stage, in order to support psychological adjustment of illness, managing anxious/depressive symptoms and fostering mental health.

Clinical trial identification

Editorial acknowledgement

Legal entity responsible for the study

The authors.

Funding

Has not received any funding.

Disclosure

D. Dalu: Financial Interests, Institutional, Advisory Role: Novartis; Financial Interests, Institutional, Advisory Board: Pfizer, Roche, Daiichi Sankyo, Gilead, Gentili. M.S. Cona: Financial Interests, Institutional, Advisory Board: Novartis, Pfizer, Roche, Daiichi Sankyo, Gentili; Financial Interests, Institutional, Coordinating PI: Gilead. N.M. La Verde: Financial Interests, Institutional, Advisory Board: Novartis, Pfizer, Roche, Daiichi Sankyo, Gilead; Financial Interests, Institutional, Coordinating PI: Gentili. All other authors have declared no conflicts of interest.