Interaction of coping styles and psychological stress on anxious and depressive symptoms in Chinese breast cancer patients.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to assess possible interactive effects of coping styles and psychological stress on depression and anxiety symptoms in Chinese women shortly after diagnosis of breast cancer. METHODS: Four hundred and one patients with breast cancer were face-to-face interviewed by trained research staff according to a standardized questionnaire including information on socio-demographic characteristics, psychological stress, coping styles, and anxiety and depressive symptoms. Interactive effects were assessed by hierarchical multiple regression analyses. RESULTS: There were significant associations of the four domains of psychological stress with anxiety and depressive symptoms except for the relationship between "worrying about health being harmed" and depressive symptoms. "Abreaction coping behavior" and "escaping coping behavior" significantly increased the level of both anxiety and depressive symptoms; whereas an "active coping style" resulted in significant decrease. The interaction of "active coping behavior" with "worrying about health being harmed" significantly increased the risk of the anxiety symptoms, while adopting "self-relaxing coping behavior" was associated with significant decrease. The interaction of "worry about daily life and social relationship being restricted" with "escaping coping behavior" significantly increased the risk of the depressive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest that certain coping styles might moderate the association of psychological stress with anxiety and depressive symptoms in Chinese women with breast cancer.

Interaction of social support and psychological stress on anxiety and depressive symptoms in breast cancer patients.

PURPOSE: The aim of the present study was to assess the association of psychological stress and social support with anxiety and depressive symptoms in Chinese newly diagnosed breast cancer patients. METHODS: Four hundred and one patients with breast cancer were recruited. Their demographic characteristics, psychological stress and social support were determined with a structured questionnaire, and their anxiety and depressive symptoms were assessed with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. RESULTS: Psychological stressors caused by breast cancer diagnosed originated from five major sources, as determined by factor analysis. These included "Worrying about health being harmed, " "Fear of decline of physical function, " "Fear of work being harmed, " "Worry about daily life and social relationship being restricted, " and "Fear of family being harmed. " Hierarchical linear regression analysis indicated that, after adjusting for gender, age, marital status, educational level, and duration of illness, solid social support can alleviate such symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest that there are strong associations between patients' needs and psychological distress with newly diagnosed breast cancer. Social support might affect these associations in Chinese women with breast cancer.

Intensive chemotherapy improved treatment outcome for Chinese children and adolescents with lymphoblastic lymphoma.

BACKGROUND: Lymphoblastic lymphoma (LBL) is a highly aggressive lymphoma, for which intensive chemotherapy is necessary. This study was designed to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of a modified acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)-Berlin-Frankfurt-Münster (BFM)-90-based protocol in Chinese children and adolescents with LBL. METHODS: From March 1998 to November 2006, 60 untreated patients with LBL (age <18 years) from a single institution were enrolled. All patients were treated with the modified ALL-BFM-90 protocol, and prophylactic cranial radiotherapy was omitted. RESULTS: The median age of the patients was 10 years (range, 2.5-18 years). Forty-eight (80%) patients had T-cell LBL, and 59 (98.3%) of the patients were stage III/IV. At the end of induction remission Ia (day 33), 3 patients had died of treatment-related toxicity. In the remaining 57 patients, complete remission (CR) or CR undetermined (CRu) had occurred in 47 (82.45%), who were designated as the moderate-risk group and partial remission (PR) had occurred in 10 patients (17.54%), who were designated the high-risk group. All patients experienced grade 3-4 hematological toxicity. At a median follow-up of 35 months, event-free survival was 78.81%+/-0.05 for all patients; the figure was 88.34%+/-0.05 for the moderate-risk group (90.91%+/-0.08 for stage III, 87.68%+/-0.06 for stage IV, 100% for those with B-cell LBL, 84.78%+/-0.06 for those with T-cell LBL, and 82.94%+/-0.08 for stage IV patients with more than 25% blast cells in bone marrow [BM]). The event-free survival in the high-risk group was 60%+/-0.15. CONCLUSION: This modified ALL-BFM-90 protocol is an effective regimen and it greatly improved the survival rate of Chinese children and adolescents with LBL compared with the ALL protocols used previously.

[Efficacy of modified BFM-90 regimen on children and adolescents with T cell lymphoblastic lymphoma: a report of 20 cases].

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma in childhood and adolescence is an aggressive malignant disease with higher mortality. BFM-90 regimen for lymphoblastic lymphoma is one of the most effective regimens. This study was designed to evaluate efficacy and toxicities of modified BFM-90 regimen on Chinese children and adolescents with lymphoblastic lymphoma. METHODS: A total of 20 naive children and adolescents with T cell lymphoblastic lymphoma were enrolled, 7 in stage III, and 13 in stage IV. Eighteen (90%) patients suffered from mediastinal mass with superior vena obstruction syndrome,10(50%) suffered from marrow invasion. All patients received modified BFM-90 regimen consisting of induction, consolidation and central nervous system prophylaxis, reinduced alleviation, and maintenance therapy. Total treatment duration was 2 years. Kaplan-Meier method was used to evaluate long-term survival rate. RESULTS: After induction remission,18 patients (90%) achieved complete remission (CR), 1 had partial remission (PR), and 1 had progressive disease (PD), overall response rate was 95%. The 2 patients with PR or PD died of tumor progression. Of 2 patients at CR1 received APBSC, 1 relapsed after transplantation, but achieved CR and survived after salvage chemotherapy;1 survived all along. Of other patients achieved CR, 5 relapsed; of these 5 patients, 1 survived after allogeneic stem cell transplantation, 1 survived after autologous stem cell transplantation, 3 died of progressive disease after chemotherapy. The overall 3-year survival rate was 74%. All patients had myelosuppression of grade III-IV during the induction and reinduction phases, but the hemotologic toxicity was manageable. CONCLUSIONS: Modified BFM-90 regimen is feasible for Chinese children and adolescent patients with lymphoblastic lymphoma, and may improve survival rate of these patients. The major side effect is myelosuppression, but it is manageable.