For Immediate Release
January 11, 2005

Screening for Distress in Cancer Patients

BUFFALO, NY – Research published in a recent issue of Psycho-Oncology suggests that the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Distress Management Screening Measure (DMSM) offers an efficient method for rapid screening and identification of distress experienced by cancer patients.

“This is one of the first empirical studies of the NCCN distress assessment tool,” said Michael Zevon, PhD, Chairman, Department of Psychosocial Oncology, Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI), who participates on the Practice Guidelines for Distress Management panel. “The NCCN worked with its members to create a tool that will help clinicians and other members of the care team accurately assess the needs of their patients. The validity of the tool is supported by our study findings.”

The DMSM is a self-report tool that examines five stress domains including practical, physical, family, emotional and spiritual problems. Distress is defined here as a “wide range of feelings, from powerlessness, sadness and fear to depression, anxiety and panic.”

A team of RPCI researchers which includes Dr. Zevon, Benson M. Hoffman, PhD; Mary D’Arrigo and Tracy Cecchini, evaluated the DMSM in 68 patients.  The DMSM was administered along with the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) and the BSI-18. The BSI and BSI-18 are widely used measures that prior studies have shown to accurately predict distress levels.  This current study validated the DMSM against these well-established measures and found that the DMSM is an effective rapid screening measure of distress in cancer patients. Using a receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis, a set of multiple cutoff scores identified different levels of distress, thereby offering health care providers another method to quickly determine when their patients require additional support.

“We found that the DMSM works as a rapid screening tool for evaluating distress among cancer patients,” continued Dr. Zevon. “Additional research is underway to support this observation, but we feel that this method does allow clinicians to quickly determine when their patients require additional support.”

A sample of the DMSM is included in the Distress Treatment Guidelines for Patients published by the NCCN and American Cancer Society. This title is one in a series dedicated to educating patients and their families about cancer. It is available in booklet form by calling 1-877-ASK-RPCI (1-877-275-7724) or online at http://www.cancer.org/downloads/CRI/NCCN_Distress.pdf.

Roswell Park Cancer Institute, founded in 1898, is the nation’s first cancer research, treatment and education center and is the only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center in Upstate New York. RPCI is a member of the prestigious National Comprehensive Cancer Network, an alliance of the nation’s leading cancer centers. For more information, visit RPCI’s website at www.roswellpark.org, call 1-877-ASK-RPCI (1-877-275-7724) or e-mail askrpci@roswellpark.org.

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