Role of sex on psychological distress, quality of life, and coping of patients with advanced colorectal and non-colorectal cancer

• DOI: 10.4251/wjgo.v14.i10.2025
• Publication Date: 2022-10-13T05:05:16Z
• Authors: Vilma Pacheco-Barcia; David Gomez; Berta Obispo; Luka Mihic Gongora; Raquel Hernandez ...; Patricia Cruz-Cas...; Mireia Gil-Raga; Vicente Villalba; Ismael Ghanem; Paula Jimenez-Fon...; Caterina Calderon
• Keywords: Quality of life; Observational Study; Cancer patients; Anxiety; Colorectal cancer; 3. Good health; Malalts de càncer; Ansietat; 03 medical and health sciences; 0302 clinical medicine; Càncer colorectal; Qualitat de vida; Diferències entre sexes; Sex differences

Patients with advanced gastrointestinal cancer must cope with the negative effects of cancer and complications.To evaluate psychological distress, quality of life, and coping strategies in patients with advanced colorectal cancer compared to non-colorectal cancer based on sex.A prospective, transversal, multicenter study was conducted in 203 patients; 101 (50%) had a colorectal and 102 (50%) had digestive, non-colorectal advanced cancer. Participants completed questionnaires evaluating psychological distress (Brief Symptom Inventory-18), quality of life (EORTC QLQ-C30), and coping strategies (Mini-Mental Adjustment to Cancer) before starting systemic cancer treatment.The study included 42.4% women. Women exhibited more depressive symptoms, anxiety, functional limitations, and anxious preoccupation than men. Patients with non-colorectal digestive cancer and women showed more somatization and physical symptoms than subjects with colorectal cancer and men. Men with colorectal cancer reported the best health status.The degree of disease acceptance in gastrointestinal malignancies may depend on sex and location of the primary digestive neoplasm. Future interventions should specifically address sex and tumor site differences in individuals with advanced digestive cancer.