Risk of Depression in tongue cancer patients as Per Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale
Purpose/Objective
tongue cancer patients are at risk of depression during treatment yet there are very few tools to highlight patients at risk. We aimed to use a validated scale to identify risk factors associated with post treatment depression in oral cancer patients.
Material/Methods
We conducted a cross sectional study from January 2022 to September 2023 during post-therapeutic monitoring in the radiotherapy department of the rabat national oncology institute. Tongue cancer patients filled out Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale questionnaire post RCC. Factors associated with risk of depression were analysed
Results
56 patients participated in the study, 64.7% of them being males. Females had a significantly higher mean depression score of 14.20 compared to males score of 11.96 . Females and patients with buccal tumors were associated with a higher risk of post treatment depression.
Conclusion
Tongue cancer patients, especially females, need special attention in regard to their psychological well-being post treatment to optimize patient compliance, improve patient care and quality of life
