IMPACT OF PSYCHOSOCIAL INTERVENTION ON THE QUALITY-OF-LIFE OF ELDERLYCANCER-PATIENTS

The aim of this study was to assess the impact of three different psyc hological interventions on the quality of life (QL) of elderly cancer patients with symptoms of anxiety and/or depression. Seventy-four pati ents were enrolled in the study. All were aged over 65 and had solid t umours or haematological malignancies, generally in advanced stages (I II-IV). The cancer treatment was administered for a mean duration of 5 months and the mean number of chemotherapy cycles was 4. After strati fication for the main prognostic factors, patients were randomly assig ned to one of three groups: Group A, psychopharmacological treatment; Group B, treatment A plus social support carried out by volunteers and Group C, treatment as Group B plus structural psychotherapy. The plan ned duration of intervention was the same as that of the medical treat ment. Patients who did not complete the planned chemotherapy neverthel ess received all the planned psychological intervention. The evaluatio n of patients' QL was assessed using either uni- or multi-dimensional instruments to explore functional status and physical symptoms as well as psychological status at subsequent times during treatment (i.e., p re-treatment, mid-treatment and at the end of treatment). The present study shows that the combination of psychopharmacological treatment wi th either social support for patients and their relatives carried out by volunteers (SSV), or SSV plus structured psychotherapy (SSV + SP), yielded the best results in terms of QL in the long-term treatment of elderly patients with advanced cancer. According to the analysis these two 'integrated' approaches proved to be almost equally effective.