Overview
The prevalence of depression in patients with cancer represents an often neglected and understudied topic and this is due to several reasons. First, patients may be reluctant to report emotional/affective complaint because of the negative attitudes toward depression. Second, clinicians should be focused only on physical treatment of the cancer and may overlook the negative emotional feelings associated with it. However, the comorbidity between depression and cancer represents a major issue for healthcare professional worldwide, which requires specific skills and knowledge.
In this module, the most recent studies exploring the etiopathological, clinical, diagnostic and therapeutic implications of comorbidity between depression and cancer have been included and discussed.
Date completed: January 2022
The WPA Action Plan Group on Comorbidity.
The WPA Action Plan Group on Comorbidity, led by Prof. N. Sartorius, started its activity in January 2021.
The main aims of the group include:
- promotion of research activities focused on the topic of comorbidities in people with severe mental disorders;
- dissemination of educational activities (such as webinar, written materials, etc.) to be distributed to the global community of healthcare professionals;
- improving training on the management of comorbidity in people with severe mental disorders;
- organizing symposia, meetings, debates during the WPA international conferences and annual congress on the topic of physical comorbidities in people with severe mental disorders.
