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Psychopathological profile and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and cirrhosis

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Abstract

In some tumors, psychosocial interventions may enhance health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of patients. The effects of psychological variables on HRQOL in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients have been rarely assessed. The aim of this work is to evaluate the psychopathological profile of HCC and cirrhotic patients and its effect on HRQOL. Twenty-four HCC patients (median age 71, Child A 21, Child B 3), 22 cirrhotic patients (median age 68, Child A 20, Child B 2) and 20 control subjects were included in this study. Each subject completes four questionnaires: medical outcomes study short form-36 (SF-36, HRQOL evaluation); Hamilton-D (quantitative evaluation of depression; positive ≥8); symptom check list 90-revised (SCL 90-R, general psychopathological profile; nine domains, each positive >1); Toronto alexithymia scale (TAS 20) (positive ≥60). SCL 90-R: cirrhotic patients differ from HCC subjects for somatization (SOM) (M ± SD 1.09 ± 0.6 vs 0.65 ± 0.6; p = 0.01) and anxiety (M ± SD 0.85 ± 0.46 vs 0.58 ± 0.38; p = 0.01) items. TAS 20: positive in 50 % of HCC patients, in 54 % of cirrhotic patients (p = n.s.) and in none of controls. Hamilton-D: higher scores in cirrhotic patients than in the HCC group (86 vs 46 %; p = 0.005). SF-36: each item, except bodily pain, is lower in both group of patients in comparison with controls. Pearson correlation analysis shows negative correlations on HRQOL of depression, SOM and anxiety both in cirrhotic and HCC subjects, also of obsessive–compulsive and hostility items in HCC. This is the first report on the psychopathological profile of HCC patients: the results open questions on the role of psychological interventions that may improve HRQOL of patients before treatment and in the follow-up.

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Abbreviations

HRQOL:

Health-related quality of life

HCC:

Hepatocellular carcinoma

SF-36:

Medical outcomes study short form-36

SCL 90-R:

Symptom checklist 90-revised

TAS-20:

Toronto alexithymia scale

EASL:

European association for the study of the liver

BCLC:

Barcelona classification liver cancer

PCS:

Physical component summary

MCS:

Mental component summary

HCV:

Hepatitis C virus

HBV:

Hepatitis B virus

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by a research fund of the University of Bari, and it has been accepted as a poster presentation at the 47th Meeting of European Association Study Liver, Barcelona, 9–12 April, 2012.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical Sciences and Human Oncology, Clinica Medica “A. Murri”, University of Bari, Policlinico, 70124, Bari, Italy

    Vincenzo O. Palmieri, Daniela Santovito, Francesco Minerva, Carla Di Gennaro & Giuseppe Palasciano

  2. Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neurosciences and Sensorial Organs, University of Bari, 70124, Bari, Italy

    Francesco Margari, Madia Lozupone & Orlando Todarello

Authors
  1. Vincenzo O. Palmieri
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  2. Daniela Santovito
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  3. Francesco Margari
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  4. Madia Lozupone
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  5. Francesco Minerva
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  6. Carla Di Gennaro
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  7. Orlando Todarello
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  8. Giuseppe Palasciano
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Correspondence to Vincenzo O. Palmieri.

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Palmieri, V.O., Santovito, D., Margari, F. et al. Psychopathological profile and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and cirrhosis. Clin Exp Med 15, 65–72 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10238-013-0267-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10238-013-0267-0

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