Psychosocial distress in cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy: a prospective national cohort of 1042 patients in Germany

PurposePsychosocial distress is common among cancer patients in general, but those undergoing radiotherapy may face specific challenges. Therefore, we investigated the prevalence and risk factors for distress in a large national cohort.MethodsWe performed a secondary analysis of a multicenter prospective cross-sectional study which surveyed cancer patients at the end of a course of radiotherapy using a patient-reported questionnaire. Distress was measured with the distress thermometer (DT), using a cut-off of >= 5 points for clinically significant distress. Univariate analyses and multivariate multiple regression were used to assess associations of distress with patient characteristics. A two-sided p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.ResultsOut of 2341 potentially eligible patients, 1075 participated in the study, of which 1042 completed the DT. The median age was 65 years and 49% (511/1042) of patients were female. The mean DT score was 5.2 (SD = 2.6). Clinically significant distress was reported by 63% (766/1042) of patients. Of the patient characteristics that were significantly associated with distress in the univariate analysis, a lower level of education, a higher degree of income loss, lower global quality of life, and a longer duration of radiotherapy in days remained significantly associated with higher distress in the multivariate analysis. Yet effect sizes of these associations were small.ConclusionNearly two in three cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy reported clinically significant distress in a large multicenter cohort. While screening and interventions to reduce distress should be maintained and promoted, the identified risk factors may help to raise awareness in clinical practice.Trial Registry identifierDRKS: German Clinical Trial Registry identifier: DRKS00028784.

Automated summary

This study investigated the prevalence and risk factors for distress among cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy. The results showed that 63% of the patients reported clinically significant distress, which was associated with lower education level, higher income loss, lower global quality of life, and longer duration of radiotherapy. It emphasizes the importance of raising awareness, screening, and interventions in clinical practice.