Department of Hematology and Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
Neuroscience Research Center, Institute of Neuropharmacology, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
J Gastrointest Cancer. 2024 Sep;55(3):1352-1358. doi: 10.1007/s12029-024-01088-6. Epub 2024 Jul 16.
The escalating incidence of cancer and the concurrent rise in mental health issues necessitate investigation into the potential for psychological factors to impede timely and effective treatment. This study examines the association between defense mechanism styles and disease progression, specifically focusing on clinical staging, in patients diagnosed with gastrointestinal (GI) cancer.
Employing a descriptive correlational design, the study recruited 205 patients with GI cancer admitted to Javad Al-Aeme Hospital in Kerman, Iran, during the year 2022. Convenience sampling was utilized for participant selection. Data collection instruments included the Defense Style Questionnaire-40 (DSQ-40) and patients' documented clinical stage information. Correlation coefficients and ordinal logistic regression were employed for data analysis.
Over half of 205 GI cancer patients were female (53.2%). The majority were married (85.8%) with an average age of 53.86 ± 8.21 years. Nearly a quarter (23.9%) were in disease stage 1, with similar proportions in stages 2 (25.4%), 3 (27.3%), and 4 (23.4%). The findings revealed a significant inverse correlation between mature defense mechanism styles and clinical stage (r = - 0.55, p < 0.001), indicating that patients who employed more adaptive defense mechanisms had lower-stage cancer. Conversely, a significant positive correlation was observed between immature defense mechanism styles and clinical stage (r = - 0.49, p < 0.001), suggesting that patients who relied on less effective defense mechanisms had more advanced-stage cancer. However, no significant association was found between neurotic defense mechanism styles and clinical stage (r = - 0.12, p = 0.079).
This study provides preliminary evidence that defense mechanism styles are associated with disease progression in patients with GI cancer. Mature defense mechanisms may promote slower disease progression, while immature defense mechanisms may contribute to more advanced disease stages. Further research is needed to confirm these findings and develop interventions to improve psychological well-being in this patient population.
癌症发病率的不断上升和心理健康问题的同时增加，需要研究心理因素是否会阻碍及时有效的治疗。本研究调查了防御机制与疾病进展的关系，特别是关注胃肠道（GI）癌症患者的临床分期。
本研究采用描述性相关性设计，于 2022 年在伊朗克尔曼的 Javad Al-Aeme 医院招募了 205 名胃肠道癌症患者。采用方便抽样法选择参与者。数据收集工具包括防御风格问卷-40（DSQ-40）和患者记录的临床分期信息。采用相关系数和有序逻辑回归进行数据分析。
205 名胃肠道癌症患者中有一半以上为女性（53.2%）。大多数患者已婚（85.8%），平均年龄为 53.86±8.21 岁。近四分之一（23.9%）患者处于疾病 1 期，2 期（25.4%）、3 期（27.3%）和 4 期（23.4%）患者比例相似。研究结果显示，成熟防御机制与临床分期呈显著负相关（r=-0.55，p<0.001），表明采用更适应性防御机制的患者癌症分期较低。相反，不成熟防御机制与临床分期呈显著正相关（r=-0.49，p<0.001），表明采用较少有效防御机制的患者癌症分期较高。然而，神经症防御机制与临床分期之间无显著相关性（r=-0.12，p=0.079）。
本研究初步证明防御机制与胃肠道癌症患者的疾病进展有关。成熟的防御机制可能促进疾病的缓慢进展，而不成熟的防御机制可能导致更晚期的疾病阶段。需要进一步研究来证实这些发现，并制定干预措施以改善这一患者群体的心理健康。
