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Childhood trauma is predictive for clinical staging, alcohol consumption, and emotional symptoms in patients with head and neck cancer
Author(s) -
SarafimSilva Bruna Amélia M.,
Duarte Gabrielle D.,
Sundefeld Maria Lúcia M. M.,
Biasoli Éder Ricardo,
Miyahara Glauco I.,
Bernabé Daniel Galera
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.052
H-Index - 304
eISSN - 1097-0142
pISSN - 0008-543X
DOI - 10.1002/cncr.31597
Subject(s) - medicine , alcohol consumption , head and neck cancer , head and neck , cancer , head trauma , pediatrics , alcohol , surgery , biochemistry , chemistry
BACKGROUND Traumatic events in childhood have been associated with the occurrence of anxiety and depression in adulthood. This relation has been investigated in patients with breast cancer; however, it has been little explored in patients with other types of cancer. The objective of this study was to evaluate the occurrence of childhood trauma in patients with head and neck cancer and its association with clinicopathological variables and anxiety and depression levels. METHODS The study included 110 patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) before they started cancer treatment. Clinicopathological and biobehavioral data were collected from patients' medical records. Anxiety and depression levels were assessed with the Beck Anxiety Inventory and the Beck Depression Inventory, respectively. The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire was used to evaluate the occurrence of traumatic events in childhood. RESULTS One hundred five patients (95.5%) experienced at least 1 type of childhood trauma. Emotional neglect was the most reported childhood trauma (43.8%), and multiple regression revealed that it was an independent variable for advanced clinical staging (β = 2.15, P = .048) and higher alcohol consumption (β = 2.32, P = .031). Patients with HNSCC who experienced more traumatic events in childhood had an almost 12 times greater chance of increased depression levels during the pretreatment period (β = 11.89; P = .0002). The occurrence of physical child neglect was a predictive factor for increased anxiety levels (β = 4.17, P = 0.029). CONCLUSIONS Traumatic events in childhood are predictive for advanced clinical staging, alcohol consumption, and emotional symptoms in patients with HNSCC, and they should be considered in clinical and psychological intervention strategies during cancer treatment. Cancer 2018;000:000‐000 . © 2018 American Cancer Society .