Abstract
Background: Patients with sarcoma are particularly vulnerable to psychosocial distress. The aim of this study was to collect preliminary data on the prevalence of psychosocial distress in such patients during follow-up care and identify risk factors associated with higher psycho-oncological stress levels. Patients and Methods: The study retrospectively enrolled 202 patients with bone or soft-tissue sarcomas who underwent routine psychosocial distress screening during their follow-up care. All patients were screened using an electronic cancer-specific questionnaire. Results: Females and patients who underwent radiotherapy were more distressed. Psychosocial distress levels were markedly higher in the early postoperative phase, but approximately one-third of patients showed high psychosocial distress levels even more than 2 years postoperatively. Conclusion: The results underscore the importance of routine psychosocial distress screenings in patients with sarcoma, which should be performed throughout the follow-up period.
- Received April 28, 2019.
- Revision received May 10, 2019.
- Accepted May 13, 2019.
- Copyright© 2019, International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. George J. Delinasios), All rights reserved