What are the individual perceptions of patients with borderline tumours of the ovary in regard to pathogenesis and prognosis? A structured survey on 60 women

Impact of diagnosis and surgical treatment of early stage borderline ovarian tumours on distress, anxiety, and psychosexual health

Women diagnosed with gynecological cancer are likely to face additional consequences beyond those common to all cancer patients leading to significant physical and psychological morbidity. Longitudinal studies addressing the prevalence of psychological distress, anxiety, or psychosexual health during follow-up in patients diagnosed with borderline ovarian tumors are lacking. This study explores this prevalence compared with controls who underwent comparable surgical treatment for benign ovarian tumors. A prospective 1:1 nonmatched case-control study was set up, registered on ClinicalTrials.gov under number NCT04253327. Thirty early stage borderline ovarian tumor patients participated, and 30 controls were included. The study materials consisted of different questionnaires. A general one on patient's sociodemographic and medical information. A questionnaire about anxiety and distress made up of three validated questionnaires: Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Perceived Stress Scale and Body Image Scale. As last one the psychosexual health questionnaire consisted of the Female Sexual Function Index, the Female Sexual Distress Scale and two European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer questionnaires. Both groups were comparable and did not differ significantly in terms of demographic characteristics. Patients with early stage borderline ovarian tumors experience a significant higher burden of mental health issues due to disease and treatment and/or are more worried about their future health. Surprisingly, both early stage borderline ovarian tumor patients and controls showed high levels of anxiety and moderate stress. Many patients in both groups experience sexual dysfunction and distress. These findings support active screening for anxiety, depression and psychosexual perturbance during postoperative follow-up to accommodate this.

Quality of life among borderline ovarian tumor survivors: A comparison with survivors of early-stage ovarian cancer and a cancer-free population: A cross-sectional population-based PROFILES study

OBJECTIVE

This study assessed the health-related quality of life (HRQo) of women surviving a borderline ovarian tumor (BOT) in comparison with early-stage ovarian cancer survivors treated surgically alone and with a matched cancer-free population.

METHODS

Survivors of BOT and ovarian cancer were invited in two Dutch cross-sectional, population-based studies. Ovarian cancer survivors with tumor stage I who were treated surgically only were included. A random sample from the cancer-free population was matched on sex, age and education to the sample of BOT survivors. The EORTC QLQ-C30 (version 3.0) and the EORTC QLQ-OV28 were completed by the cancer-free population and the BOT and ovarian cancer survivors in study 1 and 2. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was only completed by the cancer-free population and the survivors of BOT and ovarian cancer in study 1. BOT survivors were compared to early-stage ovarian cancer survivors and the general population using linear regression analyses and effect sizes regarding clinical importance.

RESULTS

83 BOT (42%), 88 early-stage ovarian cancer survivors (52%), and 82 women from the general population were included. In most HRQoL domains, BOT survivors were not significantly different from early-stage ovarian cancer survivors and the cancer-free population, except that BOT survivors reported significantly less insomnia than early-stage ovarian cancer survivors and more dyspnea than the cancer-free population (small clinical difference).

CONCLUSION

In general, BOT survivors' HRQoL lies between the HRQoL of early-stage ovarian cancer survivors and of the cancer-free population, but clinical effect sizes between the groups were mostly only trivial.

The role of positive psychological changes in anxiety and depression of patients with ovarian tumors and their partners: an observational study from the population-based PROFILES registry

PURPOSE

It is unknown whether positive psychological changes (e.g., in life perspective, self-perception, and social relationships) after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer can reduce anxiety and depression in patients and their partners. The first aim of the present study was to assess differences in anxiety and depression between patients diagnosed with an ovarian tumor and their partners. The second aim was to explore the mutual associations of patients' and partners' posttraumatic growth and their anxiety and depressive symptoms.

METHODS

Participants included 130 Dutch couples of which one partner was diagnosed with a borderline ovarian tumor or ovarian cancer between 2000 and 2010, as registered by the Netherlands Cancer Registry. In September 2011, a questionnaire was sent including the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (anxiety and depression) and Cancer Survivors (Partners) Unmet Needs measure (positive psychological changes).

RESULTS

A one-way multivariate analysis of variance showed that patients reported higher anxiety than partners, without differences in depression. Contrasting to our expectations, an actor-partner interdependence model revealed no mutual dyadic associations between positive psychological changes and anxiety or depressive symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS

Based on these findings, positive psychological change seems to be an independent construct unrelated to anxiety or depression in couples diagnosed with ovarian tumors. Still, as ovarian tumor patients and partners suffer from high anxiety and depression, further research investigating how these feelings can be reduced in couples dealing with an ovarian tumor is necessary.