THE EFFECT OF LOGOTHERAPY ON DEPRESSION IN CANCER PATIENTS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW STUDY

Objective: To determine the effect of logotherapy factors on the severity of depression in cancer patients. Materials and Methods: The present review study was conducted in 2017. In order to find evidence in this regard, the English-language and Persian-language scientific bases (PubMed, Elsevier, Science direct, SID, Google scholar, ProQuest) were searched for determined keywords such as Logotherapy (Depression or Depressive disorders) and (Cancer or Tumor or Neoplasm or Malignancy). Out of the 79 articles found after removing duplicate and non-related ones, finally, 6 articles were selected for the study process based on the inclusion criteria. Results: Based on the results, in two studies from six obtained studies, intervention was done on patients with breast cancer and in another study was conducted on subjects with colorectal cancer under chemotherapy. The minimum and maximum number of logotherapy sessions was 8 and 10 sessions, respectively. The meetings also lasted from 45 minutes to 120 minutes. After intervention, depression significantly decreased in cancer patients. Conclusions: Logotherapy can play a significant role in lowering depression in patients with cancer. It is suggested that in order to have more effective sessions, the duration and number of logotherapy sessions could be determined according to the severity of depression and patient's condition.