Depressive symptom trajectories during and after adjuvant treatment for breast cancer.

BACKGROUND

The course of depressive symptoms during and after breast cancer treatment is not well understood.

PURPOSE: We identified patient subgroups based on distinct trajectories of depressive symptoms and determined whether subgroups could be distinguished by personal characteristics and coping strategies.

METHODS

Breast cancer patients completed the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale on clinically meaningful occasions and during the posttreatment period. The Illness Management Questionnaire was completed prior to treatment.

RESULTS

A three-class mixture model provided the best fit to the data. Subgroup membership was significantly (p < .05) associated with marital status, history of depression, and focusing on symptoms. In multivariate analysis, marital status and focusing on symptoms remained significant (p < .05) predictors of subgroup membership.

CONCLUSIONS

Distinct trajectories can be identified during and after adjuvant breast cancer therapy. Predictors of these trajectories have implications for addressing depressive symptoms in this clinical population and for future research.