Depression and cancer: a follow-up study.

Thirty-nine male and 90 female patients aged 40 and over, who had been given a primary diagnosis of depression, were followed up for 2 1/3-4 years. During this period 9 male and 9 female patients died. Five male patients and 1 female died from cancer that had not been diagnosed at the time of their psychiatric admissions. The male cancer deaths are significantly higher than expected. The possible relationships of malignant neoplasm to affective disorder are discussed.