Post-traumatic stress disorder in cancer: A review

The stressor criterion for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has been r ecently modified to include life-threatening illnesses, such as cancer, as precipitating traumatic events. We sought to examine the empiric evidence f or cancer's inclusion as a traumatic stressor. Nine published studies asses sing PTSD in cancer survivors and/or family members were identified in the literature. The studies were predominantly small (n < 100) and cross-sectio nal. Study target groups included one or more of the following: children ca ncer survivors, parents of pediatric survivors and adult cancer survivors. There was considerable inter- and intra-study variability in the type and s tage of cancer diagnosed and in the type of treatment regimens participants had undergone. Only three studies utilized a validated PTSD diagnostic too l to evaluate the disorder. Evidence of full-blown PTSD was found for adult s and parents, and for children in all but one instance. These results sugg est that a PTSD symptom assessment provides valuable clinical information c oncerning the post-treatment adjustment of cancer survivors and their immed iate family members. Copyright (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.