Effects of depression on the survival of pancreatic adenocarcinoma

Objectives: Depression frequently predates the diagnosis of pancreatic adenocarcinoma. In other malignancies, depression has been shown to adversely affect survival. The purpose of this study was to assess whether survival after resection for pancreatic cancer is shortened by the pretreatment presence of depression. Methods: A database of all patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer was retrospectively reviewed for depression, resection, and chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy. A total of 258 patients were studied; 21% had depression, 19% had surgical resection of the tumor, and 42% were treated with chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy. Survival data was analyzed using Cox proportional hazard regression and life table analysis. Results: The median survival time for all depressed patients with pancreatic cancer was 5 months compared with 4 months for all nondepressed patients with pancreatic cancer ( P< 0.9). There was no difference in stage, rate of surgical resection, rate of chemotherapy administration, or rate of radiation therapy use between depressed and nondepressed patients. Conclusion: Patients who had undergone surgical resection or chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy had longer survival times than those who did not. Depression, although common among patients with pancreatic cancer, does not affect survival.