Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Decreased quality of life and depression as predictors for shorter survival among patients with low-grade gliomas: a follow-up from 1990 to 2003

  • ORIGINAL PAPER
  • Published:
European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Objectives

To assess the long-term survival of brain tumor patients, and in particular to evaluate the relation of quality of life (QOL) to survival among low-grade glioma patients.

Methods

The postoperative survival of 101 brain tumor patients was followed from surgery (1990–1992) until the end of the year 2003. Depression was evaluated by the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and QOL with Sintonen’s 15D scale before operation and at one year as well as at five years after operation.

Results

The mean survival times in years (SD) were significantly related to tumor malignancy, being the shortest, 1.9 (0.6), for patients with high-grade gliomas, while patients with low-grade gliomas or a benign brain tumor had mean survival times of 9.1 (1.0) and 11.6 (0.5), respectively. At all follow-ups, depressed low-grade glioma patients had a significantly shorter survival time, 3.3–5.8 years, compared to non-depressed low-grade glioma patients, 10.0–11.7 years. A decreased level of QOL in low-grade glioma patients was significantly related to the shorter survival.

Conclusions

The results suggest that depression and decreased QOL among low-grade glioma patients is related to shorter survival at long-term follow-up. Decreased QOL may serve as an indicator for poor prognosis in low-grade glioma patients.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Reiche EM, Nunes SO, Morimoto HK (2004) Stress, depression, the immune system, and cancer. Lancet Oncol 5(10):617–25

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Evans D, Charney DS (2003) Mood disorders and medical illness: a major public health problem. Biol Psychiatry 54:177–180

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Schiepers OJG, Wichers MC, Maes M (2005) Cytokines and major depression. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol. Biol Psychiatry 29(2): 201–217

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Spiegel D, Giese-Davis J (2003) Depression and cancer: Mechanisms and disease progression. Biol Psychiatry 54:269–282

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Holden RJ, Pakula IS, Mooney PA (1998) An immunological model connecting the pathogenesis of stress, depression and carcinoma. Med Hypotheses 51:309–314

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Horrobin DF, Bennet CN (1999) Depression and bipolar disorder: relationships to impaired fatty acid and phospholipid metabolism and to diabetes, cardiovascular disease, immunological abnormalities, cancer, ageing and osteoporosis. Prostagl Leukotr Ess 60:217–234

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Kronfol Z, Remick DG (2000) Cytokines and the brain: Implications for clinical psychiatry. Am J Psychiatry 157:683–694

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Walker PR, Calzascia T, de Tribolet N, Dietrich PY (2003) T-cell immune responses in the brain and their relevance for cerebral malignancies. Brain Research Reviews 42:97–122

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Litofsky NS, Farace E, Anderson F, Jr, Meyers CA, Huang W, Laws ER, Jr (2004) Depression in patients with high-grade glioma: Results of the glioma outcome project. Neurosurgery 54:358–366

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Mainio A, Hakko H, Timonen M, Niemelä A, Koivukangas J, Räsänen P (2005) Depression in relation to survival among neurosurgical patients with a primary brain tumour: a 5-year follow-up study. Neurosurgery 56:1234–1241

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Earlam S, Glover C, Fordy C, Burke D, Allen-Mersh TG (1996) Relation between tumour size, quality of life, and survival in patients with colorectal liver metastases. J Clin Oncol 14:171–175

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Efficace F, Therasse P, Piccart MJ, Coens C, Van Steen K, Welnicka-Jaskiewicz M, Cufer T, Dyczka J, Lichinitser M, Shepherd L, de Haes H, Sprangers MA, Bottomley A (2004) Health-related quality of life parameters as prognostic factors in a nonmetastatic breast cancer population: an international multicenter study. J Clin Oncol 22:3381–3388

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Giovagnoli AR, Silvani A, Colombo E, Boiardi A (2005) Facets and determinants of quality of life in patients with recurrent high grade glioma. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 76:562–568

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Salo J, Niemelä A, Joukamaa M, Koivukangas J (2002) Effect of brain tumour laterality on patients’ perceived quality of life. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 72:373–377

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Kleihues P, Burger PC, Scheithauer BW (1976) Histological typing of tumors of the central nervous system. WHO Classifications. (2nd ed.) Springer Verlag, Berlin

    Google Scholar 

  16. North CA, North RB, Epstein J, Piantadosi S, Wharam MD (1990) Low-grade cerebral astrocytomas survival and quality of life after radiation therapy. Cancer 66:6–14

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Beck AT, Steer RA, Garbin MG (1988) Psychometric properties of the Beck depression Inventory: twenty-five years of evaluation. Clin Psychol Rev 8:77–100

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Sintonen H (2001) The 15D instrument of health-related quality of life: properties and applications. Ann Med 33(5):328–36

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Liigant A, Kulla A, Linnamägi Ü, Asser T, Kaasik A-E (2001) Survival of patients with primary CNS tumors in Estonia. Eur J Cancer 37:1895–1903

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Lutterbach J, Sauerbrei W, Guttenberg R (2003) Multivariate analysis of prognostic factors in patients with glioblastoma. Strahlenther Onkol 1:8–15

    Google Scholar 

  21. Davis FG, Freels S, Grutsch J, Barlas S, Brem S (1998) Survival rates in patients with primary malignant brain tumors stratified by patient age and tumor histological type: an analysis based on Surveillance, Epidemiolgy, and End Results (SEER) data, 1973–1991

    Google Scholar 

  22. Kallio M (1990) Therapy and survival of adult patients with intracranial glioma in a defined population. Acta Neurol Scand 81:541–549

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Claus EB, Black PM (2006) Survival rates and patterns of care for patients diagnosed with supratentorial low-grade gliomas: data from SEER program, 1973–2001. Cancer 15:1358–1363

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Mahaley MS, Mettlin SW, Natarayan N, Laws ER, Jr, Peace BB (1989) National survey of patterns of care for brain tumour patients. J Neurosurg 71:826–836

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. McCarthy BJ, Davis FG, Freels S, Suravocz TS, Damek DM, Grutsch J, Menck HR, Laws ER, Jr (1998) Factors associated with survival in patients with meningioma. J Neurosurg 88:831–839

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Sheibani-Rad S, Velanovich V (2006) Effects of depression on the survival of pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Pancreas 32:58–61

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Watson M. Homewood J, Haviland J, Bliss JM (2005) Influence of psychological response on breast cancer survival: 10-year follow-up of population-based cohort. Eur J Cancer 41:1710–1714

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Spiegel D, Bloom JR, Kraemer HC, Gottheil E (1989) Effect of psychosocial treatment on survival of patients with metastatic breast cancer. Lancet 2:888–891

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Richardson JL, Shelton DR, Krailo M, Levine AM (1990) The effect of compliance with treatment on survival among patients with hematologic malignancies. J Clin Oncol 8:356–364

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. McCorkle R, Strumpf NE, Nuamah IF, Adler DC, Cooley ME, Jepson C, Lusk EJ, Torosian M (2000) A specialized home care intervention improves survival among older post-surgical cancer patients. J Am Geriatr Soc 48:1707–1713

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Brown PD, Maurer MJ, Rummans TA, Pollock BE, Ballman KV, Sloan JA, Boeve BF, Arusell RM, Clark MM, Buckner JC (2005) A prospective study of quality of life in adults with newly diagnosed high-grade gliomas: the impact of the extent of resection on quality of life and survival. Neurosurgery 57:495–504

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Brown PD, Ballman KV, Rummans TA, Maurer MJ, Sloan JA, Boeve BF, Gupta L, Tang-Wai DF, Arusell RM, Clark MM, Buckner JC (2006) Prospective study of quality of life in adults with newly diagnosed high-grade gliomas. J Neuro-oncol 76: 283–291

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The Jalmari and Rauha Ahokas Foundation and the Maire Taponen Foundation and Lauri Manninen, student of statistics.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 5000, 90014, Oulu, Finland

    Arja Mainio MD, PhD, Satu Tuunanen BM, Helinä Hakko PhD, Asko Niemelä MD & Pirkko Räsänen MD, PhD

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Oulu University Hospital, P.O. Box 26, 90029, OYS, Oulu, Finland

    Arja Mainio MD, PhD, Helinä Hakko PhD, Asko Niemelä MD & Pirkko Räsänen MD, PhD

  3. Department of Neurosurgery, Oulu University Hospital, P.O. Box 26, 90029, OYS, Oulu, Finland

    John Koivukangas MD, PhD

Authors
  1. Arja Mainio MD, PhD
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Satu Tuunanen BM
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Helinä Hakko PhD
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Asko Niemelä MD
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. John Koivukangas MD, PhD
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Pirkko Räsänen MD, PhD
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Arja Mainio MD, PhD.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Mainio, A., Tuunanen, S., Hakko, H. et al. Decreased quality of life and depression as predictors for shorter survival among patients with low-grade gliomas: a follow-up from 1990 to 2003. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 256, 516–521 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-006-0674-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-006-0674-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation