A patient's positive or negative emotional state has no effect on cancer survival or disease progression, a large scale study published in CANCER has found. The debate as to whether or not psychological state and emotional status can impact the progression of disease in the body has long been argued in popular and scientific circles. But leader of the new study, Dr. James Coyne, from the University of Pennsylvania, says previous studies used patients with many different diseases, small sample sizes and an inadequate number of deaths to be conclusive.
Dr. Coyne's team analyzed data from two community studies of patients with head and neck cancer "to examine whether emotional well being at study entry predicted survival." Their approach had the methodological strengths of using a homogenous population and many deaths to detect even small statistically significant effects. The analysis showed that emotional status was not associated with survival rate, nor was it associated with survival even after investigating several other factors, such as gender, tumor site or disease stage.
The researchers found that emotional status "neither directly affected progression or death, nor functioned as a lurking variable." While this study may not end the debate, it does provide the strongest evidence to date that psychological factors are not independently prognostic in cancer management. "The hope that we can fight cancer by influencing emotional states appears to have been misplaced. If cancer patients want psychotherapy or to be in a support group, they should be given the opportunity to do so. There can be lots of emotional and social benefits. But they should not seek such experiences solely on the expectation that they are extending their lives," noted Dr Coyne.
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Source: University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
