Factors influencing anxiety and depression in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma patients and their impact on quality of life

BACKGROUND Patients with middle and advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) frequently experience significant anxiety and depression, severely affecting their quality of life. AIM To examine the anxiety and depression status of patients with middle and advanced HCC, the influencing factors, and the correlation between these psychological factors and quality of life. METHODS We collected baseline data from 100 patients with HCC, assessing anxiety and depression levels using the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAMA) and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD). Quality of life was evaluated with the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Hepatobiliary Questionnaire. Multivariate logistic regression analyzed clinical and psychosocial factors affecting anxiety and depression, while Pearson correlation assessed relationships among HAMA, HAMD, and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Hepatobiliary Questionnaire scores. RESULTS Results indicated that 64% of patients exhibited anxiety and 65% showed depression symptoms. Key influencing factors included Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer C stage, multiple tumors, social support, prior treatments (such as liver resection and transcatheter arterial chemoembolization/hepatic artery infusion chemotherapy), as well as HAMA and HAMD scores. Anxiety and depression correlated negatively with quality of life, with coefficients of -0.671 and -0.575 for HAMA and HAMD, respectively. CONCLUSION Anxiety and depression are prevalent among patients with middle and advanced HCC, impacting quality of life. This underscores the need for psychological health considerations in liver cancer treatment and establishing psychological interventions is essential.