Depression and cancer: mechanisms and disease progression

D Spiegel, J Giese-Davis - Biological psychiatry, 2003 - Elsevier
Depression and cancer commonly co-occur. The prevalence of depression among cancer
patients increases with disease severity and symptoms such as pain and fatigue. The
literature on depression as a predictor of cancer incidence is mixed, although chronic and
severe depression may be associated with elevated cancer risk. There is divided but
stronger evidence that depression predicts cancer progression and mortality, although
disentangling the deleterious effects of disease progression on mood complicates this …