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Relationship of oestrogen receptor status to depressive symptoms and quality of life in breast cancer patients

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 February 2013

Jong-Hoon Kim ,
Byoung-Jo Lee ,
Jae-Nam Bae  and
Bong-Jin Hahm
Jong-Hoon Kim
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Gil Medical Center, Gachon University, Incheon, Republic of Korea
Byoung-Jo Lee
Affiliation:
Department of Neuropsychiatry, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea Department of psychiatry, Boram Hospital, Incheon, Republic of Korea
Jae-Nam Bae
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Inha University College of Medicine, Incheon, Republic of Korea
Bong-Jin Hahm*
Affiliation:
Department of Neuropsychiatry, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Seoul National University, College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea Institute of Human Behavioral Medicine, Medical Research Center, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
*
Dr. Bong-Jin Hahm, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Seoul National University, College of Medicine, 28 Yongon-Dong, Chongno-Gu, Seoul, 110-744, Republic of Korea. Tel: 82-2-2072-2557; Fax: 82-2-744-7241; E-mail: hahm@snu.ac.kr
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Abstract

Objective

We investigated the relationship of oestrogen receptor (ER) status to the severity of depressive symptoms and quality of life (QOL) impairment in breast cancer patients.

Methods

Seventy-seven breast cancer patients with comorbid depression were evaluated with the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD), the Clinical Global Impression-Severity of Illness (CGI-S) for depression, and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast (FACT-B). ER status was determined using immunohistochemical analysis.

Results

The ER-positive group (n = 31) showed significantly higher scores compared with the ER-negative group (n = 46) on HAMD total (p = 0.04) and somatic anxiety factor (p = 0.004) scores as well as CGI-S score (p = 0.03). As for QOL measured with the FACT-B, a significantly higher score was found on the Functional Well-Being (FWB) subscale in the ER-positive group (p = 0.001). The relationships were further analysed using generalised linear models (GLM), after controlling for the influence of the current anti-oestrogen treatment. The analysis revealed that ER status was still significantly related to the FWB subscale score of the FACT-B (p = 0.04). However, the HAMD and CGI-S scores were no longer significantly related to ER status after the influence of anti-oestrogen treatment was controlled for.

Conclusion

These results suggest that ER status, which is a well-known biological prognostic factor in breast cancer, may be related to the severity of certain aspects of depressive symptoms or QOL impairment, implying a role of the ER in affective and behavioural regulation. However, anti-oestrogen treatments significantly influence these relationships.

Keywords

anti-oestrogen treatment, breast cancer, depressive symptoms, oestrogen receptor status, QOL
Type
Original Articles
Information
Acta Neuropsychiatrica , Volume 25 , Issue 5 , October 2013 , pp. 283 - 288
Copyright
Copyright © Scandinavian College of Neuropsychopharmacology 2013 

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