Anxiety and Depression in Female Patients with Breast Cancer: A Study of Predictors

Background: Cancer diagnosis and its treatments are recognized to be stressful, which raises the need for identifying its psychological sequelae, such as anxiety and depression in the vulnerable patients. Objectives: The aim was to study the psychosocial, clinical or biological factors, which predict the development of depression and anxiety in female patients diagnosed with breast cancer. Method: This is a cross sectional study of 104 female patients newly diagnosed with breast cancer before surgery. Clinical and Immunohistochemical analyses were done to detect the presence of estrogen, progesterone and HER2/neu receptors. The following scales were applied: the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Social Readjustment Rating Scale, Rotter s Internal and External Locus of Control and MOS Social Support Scale. Results: Predictors for depression were external locus of control, high education, lymph node (LN) status and tumor grading (beta= 0.346, 0.498, 0.256, 0.186 respectively) while predictors for anxiety were high education, tumor size and HER2/neu receptors (beta=0.233, 0.271, -0.260 respectively). Conclusion: Some biological and psychological factors can predict the development of depression and anxiety in breast cancer patients; therefore, early intervention can improve the mental health of those patients.