Anxiety and prevalence of psychiatric disorders among patients awaiting surgery for suspected ovarian cancer

Aim:  The goal of the current study was to determine the anxiety level and prevalence of psychiatric disorders among patients awaiting surgery for ovarian tumors. Also analyzed were the predictive factors for psychiatric disorders and changes after surgical diagnosis.
Methods:  Patients who underwent surgery for ovarian tumors were examined before and after surgery with the MINI International Neuropsychiatric Interview, the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and the Mausley Personality Inventory (MPI). Participants diagnosed with cancer were examined a third time after being given an explanation about whether or not adjuvant chemotherapy was required.
Results:  Twenty-seven participants completed the study and were analyzed. Nine (33.3%) of these 27 participants were diagnosed as having adjustment disorder. There were no differences in the demographic data, STAI trait anxiety score and MPI score between the participants with or without adjustment disorder. At the pre-surgical interview, the STAI state anxiety score of the participants was high (49.5 ± 10.30). After pathological examination of the tumors, it was found that 12 patients had cancer (malignant group) and 15 patients had a benign tumor (benign group). At pre-surgery, the prevalence of adjustment disorder and the level of anxiety in the benign group were similar to those in the malignant group. There was a second surge of anxiety in patients who needed chemotherapy.
Conclusion:  The above findings demonstrate that patients with suspected ovarian cancer experience a high level of anxiety. Physicians should be aware of the risk of adjustment disorder in these patients. Additionally, ovarian cancer patients need psychological assessment during the course of treatment.