Cancer deadlier for patients with poorer mental health

CANCER patients who have suffered mental health problems are less likely to survive the disease, according to research.

A study found that those who had received emergency psychiatric help prior to their cancer diagnosis were up to three-quarters more likely to die.

The scientists at the University of Toronto who conducted the research believe stress may disrupt the body’s immune system, which plays an important role in overcoming cancer.

They called for a greater focus on patients’ mental health history once a diagnosis of cancer has been made.

Published in the British Journal of Cancer, the study examined the records of patients with 10 of the most common forms of cancer.

Those who visited their GP about their mental health prior to their cancer diagnosis were on average five per cent more likely to die from their disease compared to someone who had never sought psychiatric help.

Mental health patients who were seen in A&E were 36 per cent more likely to succumb, while those who had been admitted to hospital for the issue were 73 per cent more likely.

Dr Zachary Klaassen, lead author at the Georgia Cancer Center, said: “Stress may affect our body’s immune surveillance systems, effectively hampering the ability to detect and fight cancer.

“A recent psychiatric history should be a red flag to all doctors and nurses treating cancer patients.”