Associations Among Plasma Stress Markers and Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression in Patients with Breast Cancer Following Surgery

OBJECTIVE: The objective of present study is to analyze the prevalence of depression and anxiety following breast cancer surgery and to assess the factors that affect postoperative psychological symptoms. METHODS: The Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D), Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A), Body Image Scale (BIS), and Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale (RSES) were used to assess the psychological states of patients who had been diagnosed with and had undergone surgery for breast cancer. Blood concentrations of the stress markers adrenocorticotropic hormone, cortisol, arginine-vasopressin, and angiotensin-converting enzyme were measured. Pearson’s correlation analysis and multilinear regression analysis were used to analyse the data. RESULTS: At least mild depressive symptoms were noted in 50.5% of patients, while 42.4% of patients exhibited at least mild anxiety symptoms. HAM-D score was positively correlated with HAM-A (r=0.83, p<0.001) and BIS (r=0.29, p<0.001) scores and negatively correlated with RSES score (r=-0.41, p<0.001). HAM-A score was positively correlated with BIS score (r=0.32, p<0.001) and negatively correlated with RSES score (r=-0.27, p<0.001). There were no statistically significant associations between stress markers and depression/anxiety. CONCLUSION: Patients with breast cancer frequently exhibit postoperative depression and anxiety, which are related to low levels of self-esteem and distorted body image.