EFFECTS OF MEDICAL AND PSYCHOTHERAPEUTIC TREATMENT ON THE SURVIVAL OFWOMEN WITH METASTATIC BREAST-CARCINOMA

BACKGROUND. The authors previously reported a statistically significan t effect of psychosocial intervention on survival time of women with m etastatic breast carcinoma. In this study, the authors investigated wh ether this effect could be explained by differences in the medical tre atment patients received subsequent to their group participation or di fferences in causes of death. METHODS. Of the original 86 study partic ipants, medical treatment charts for 61 and death certificates for 83 were available for further analysis. The authors reviewed the course o f the medical treatment they received subsequent to their entry into t he randomized psychotherapy trial. RESULTS. Although there were no sta tistically significant differences with regard to chemotherapy and hor mone therapy between the control and treatment groups, women in the co ntrol group tended to have received more adrenalectomies, although thi s procedure did not account for the difference in survival time betwee n the control group and the treatment group. Furthermore, women in the control group developed more bone and lung metastases than the women in the treatment group. CONCLUSIONS. Differences in disease course bet ween the control and treatment groups appeared to be independent of an y differences in medical treatment received. (C) 1997 American Cancer Society.