Associations between quality of life, coping styles, optimism, and anxiety and depression in pre-treatment patients with head and neck cancer

Background. Head and neck cancer is often diagnosed at a late stage and consequently radical treatment is necessary. The pretreatment phase is a time of high anxiety and depression for patients. This study aimed to investigate whether anxiety and depression are related to quality of life, coping styles, and dispositional optimism. Methods. One hundred and three patients were recruited after diagnosis to a questionnaire study. Measures included the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale; SF12v2 Health Survey; Brief COPE, and the Revised Life Orientation Test. Results. Quality of life, in particular emotional role explained a large proportion of the variance in pretreatment anxiety and depression. In addition, the use of negative coping styles was related to high anxiety levels and low levels of optimism were related to higher levels of depression. Conclusion. There are a small but significant proportion of pretreatment patients that may benefit from individualized support.