Depression and cancer: An appraisal of the literature for prevalence, detection, and practice guideline development for psychological interventions

This paper reviews the current literature concerning the prevalence and inc idence of depression in the general population and within the population of people living with cancer where depression is defined using current standa rds and guidelines. Reviews of recent work where the treatment of depressio n was the focus of study are also presented. Finally, studies that have spe cifically addressed the psychological treatment of depression among cancer patients are critically reviewed. Suggestions for practice guideline develo pment of psychological interventions are offered based on the review. Copyr ight (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.