Cancer Survivors See Higher Incidence of Suicidal Thoughts

Childhood cancer survivors may be more prone to suffer suicidal thoughts later in life than those who have remained healthy throughout childhood, according to a study released last week by a team of Harvard Medical School researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

The Harvard team’s report, released in “Journal of Clinical Oncology,” marks a critical step towards identifying the long-term psychological effects that can result from battling a life-threatening and potentially debilitating illness.

“Most of the professional intervention that these [childhood cancer survivors] get is around their physical health,” said Christopher J. Recklitis, the study’s lead author and an assistant professor of pediatrics at the Medical School. “This [report] is a reminder to practitioners that if adult survivors of cancer have multiple medical problems they may also be having significant emotional distress and it’s important to stop and ask them about that.”

The study examined the possibility of a link between suicidal thinking and cancer treatment while also drawing a correlation between suicidal thought and patient’s self-assessments of their current health. Those patients who indicated that they were in poor health did register higher incidences of suicidal thought, the study showed.

The report findings indicated that nearly eight percent of childhood cancer survivors reported suicidal thinking compared to only 4.6 percent among a control group composed of the survivor’s siblings.

“This study is a reminder to all of us,” said Recklitis, “that although most survivors are doing well there’s a small group of people who may have intense physical and emotional distress.”

The study surveyed a little over 9,000 adult survivors of childhood cancer and nearly 3,000 siblings already participating in the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study.

Participants filled out a survey with their demographic information as well as medical and psychological functioning, including incidence of suicidal thoughts in the past seven days. The results, Recklitis said, were significant.

“Depression and other emotional problems can wax and wane over time,” said Recklitis. “So for eight percent of respondents to report suicidal thoughts in the past seven days is pretty significant.”

The findings highlight how important it is for survivors to seek follow-up care and for the medical community to prepare a multidisciplinary approach to survivor care, said Bruce M. Cohen, president and psychiatrist in chief emeritus, the Medical School’s largest psychiatric facility.

“American health care ranks really high in terms of the effectiveness with which way we can treat people,” Cohen said. “But it doesn’t necessarily rank high in terms of its comprehensive care, how we handle long term care, or whether—after we do something acute to try and help—we then continue to help.”

“If nothing else,” he added. “This study reminds us that it is not good medicine to apply a treatment and not continue to help people in a more holistic way.”