Depression and degree of acceptance of adjuvant cytotoxic drugs.

An interaction between psychological attitude and outcome in early-stage breast cancer has been postulated, with a possible explanation related to the presumed tendency of depressed patients to be less proactive in obtaining health care. We report on the degree of acceptance of adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with breast cancer who have concomitant depression. Only 20 (51.3%) of the study group accepted and received the proposed chemotherapy compared with 75 (92.2%) of the control group (p<0.0001). Treatment of depression might be essential for tailoring adjuvant treatments with chemotherapy.