Background:

Depression is often underdiagnosed in elderly cancer patients and is correlated with worse health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Few studies focus specifically on depression in older women with gynecological cancers. Determining which factors are associated with depression risk as well as its impact on HRQOL may be useful in diagnosing and treating the disorder in women with cancer.

 

Purpose: To identify factors associated with positive depression screen in older women with gynecological cancer and measure the impact on HRQOL.

 

Methods: Women who were aged 65 years and older when diagnosed with cervical, ovarian, or uterine cancer (n=1,889) were identified from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results - Medicare Health Outcomes Survey linked database and compared to cancer-free controls (n=9,445). Positive depression screen was defined using three diagnostic interview schedule questions and HRQOL measures were derived from the Short Form 36 and Veterans RAND 12. Logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with positive depression screen. Linear regression was used to assess the impact of positive depression screen on HRQOL scores.

 

Results: Preliminary results show that prevalence of depressive symptoms was higher among gynecological cancer patients than cancer-free women. Among cancer patients, non-white race, lower education levels, and higher numbers of comorbidities and impairments in activities of daily living were significantly associated with positive depression screen, while time since diagnosis decreased risk. Positive depression screen was significantly associated with decreases in HRQOL scores.

 

Implications:

The findings from this study can be useful in identifying women with gynecological cancer who are at high risk of depression and may be most in need of psychosocial or clinical support, and in designing targeted interventions to diagnose and treat depression in older women with cancer.

On May 1, 2018, all reporting and data processing for Region 5 data will transition to the CRGC office in Sacramento with the final closure date for DSCSP scheduled for June 30, 2018. CRGC will communicate additional information in the months ahead for reporting as well as contact information for CRGC staff. Reporting activities for Region 5 will be continued by CRGC after the closure of DSCSP.

Funding for cancer registration activities has been impacted significantly by budget reductions for both state and federal contracts. As a result, more centralization of cancer surveillance activities created advances in information systems technology and improvements in automation functionalities.

The Desert Sierra Cancer Surveillance Program (DSCSP), Region 5 of Cancer Registry of Greater California (CRGC)/California Cancer Registry (CCR) was implemented as a regional registry in 1988 by California Health & Safety Code Section 103875-103885 to conduct cancer surveillance and incidence monitoring in Inyo, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. Since that time, we have conducted numerous community cancer assessments, collaborations with researchers to produce multiple publications utilizing CCR data, performed continuous quality control activities and have conducted data collection for multiple non-hospital facilities for an incidence caseload of 18,000 + cases. We could not have realized these accomplishments without the continuing efforts of our DSCSP employees (past and present) as well as all the cancer registrars and reporting facilities in our region.

We look forward to seeing all of you at our final DSCSP Educational Program on April 11, 2018. See below for further details.