「心身医学的見地からみた癌患者の特徴-乳癌患者の検討-」

抄録

It has been well established, with the development of pychooncology, that psychosocial factors play an important role in clinical course and prognosis of malignant diseases. We regard psychooncological approaches to cancer patients as one of large subjects in psychosomatic medicine.
In the present study, we investigated psychological characteristics in 47 patients with breast cancer who were hospitalized in the 2nd department of surgery in Kansai Medical University and had an operation. As psychometrical instruments, State-trait anxiety inventory (ATAI) and Minnesota multiphasic personality inventory (MMPI) were employed. In order to inquire psychosomatic background, a semi-structured interview was conducted in each subject.
As a whole, breast cancer patients were found to be more anxious on the STAI, compared to healthy controls. On the contrary, most patients did not express manifest anxiety on the occasion of individual interview. About 40% of them denied the presence of worries about the disease and 70% were prone to be emotionally suppressive. These results were compatible with high sores on the MMPI-alexithymia scale in breast cancer patients because the concept of alexithymia proposed by Sifneos implies difficulties identifying and describing feelings.
Considering the fact that alexithymic character is frequently recognized in various psychosomatic patients, it is suggested that subjects with cancer and those with psychosomatic disease may have common psychological features.