Cancer and mental health—a clinical and research unmet need
A partir d'une revue de la littérature publiée sur la période 2002-2011, cette étude fait le point sur les sujets de recherche analysant les troubles psychiques chez les patients atteints de cancer
Background : Poor mental health is the largest single source of disability in the UK, and co-morbid health problems, particularly with cancer, raise total health care costs significantly. Methods : This study examined what research is being conducted into the intersection between cancer and mental health. Research papers captured by the intersection of sub-field filters—‘mental disorder’ and ‘cancer’—were studied from the Web of Science over a 10-year period (2002–2011). Results : There were 1463 papers dealing with the dual presence of cancer and mental disorder. They amounted to 0.26% of cancer research and 0.51% of mental health research over the 10-year period, indicating that their intersection receives little research attention. Eighty per cent of papers were concerned with the effects of cancer on mental health rather than the reverse; a few (5%) looked at the post-traumatic stress suffered by carers of cancer patients. Of cancer types, breast dominated (21%), followed by prostate (5%), lung (3%), oral (2%) and colorectal (2%) cancer. The area of mental health most studied in cancer was unipolar depression. Conclusions : The paucity of research that exists at the intersection of cancer and mental health requires attention from policymakers and funders in order to address an important trans-disciplinary gap in health care research.