Panic disorder in hospitalized cancer patients

• Published in: Psycho-oncology (Chichester, England) Vol. 9; no. 3; pp. 253 - 258
• Main Authors: Slaughter, James R., Jain, Alok, Holmes, Stacey, Reid, John C., Bobo, William, Sherrod, Nancy B.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chichester, UK John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 01.05.2000
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Cancer; Clonazepam - therapeutic use; Female; GABA Modulators - therapeutic use; Hospitalization; Hospitalized; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Neoplasms - psychology; Neoplasms - rehabilitation; Panic Disorder - drug therapy; Panic Disorder - etiology; Panic disorders; Patients; Treatment Outcome
• ISSN: 1057-9249; 1099-1611
• DOI: 10.1002/1099-1611(200005/06)9:3<253::AID-PON449>3.0.CO;2-C

Cancer is commonly complicated by psychiatric comorbidity, particularly depression. However, the effects of panic on cancer treatment and cancer patients' quality of life are not well understood. To examine more closely the occurrence of panic attacks and panic disorder in cancer patients, we retrospectively reviewed charts of 106 consecutive psychosomatic consultations of inpatients with cancer at a regional cancer center. Approximately one‐fifth of the patient sample presented with panic attacks or panic disorder at the time of the consultation. We present four case examples to demonstrate the potential effect of panic on cancer patients, including requests for cancer treatment discontinuation. We report resolution of panic with benzodiazepine and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.