Yu X, He X, Wang S. Anxiety and depression in patients with hepatobiliary and pancreatic malignancies: Influence of disease stage and psychosocial factors. World J Psychiatry 2025; 15(10): 108712 [DOI: 10.5498/wjp.v15.i10.108712]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Shuai Wang, PhD, Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Jingzhou Hospital Affiliated to Yangtze University, Chuyuan Avenue, Jingzhou District, Jingzhou 434020, Hubei Province, China. l10095@yangtzeu.edu.cn
Research Domain of This Article
Psychiatry
Article-Type of This Article
Retrospective Study
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Psychiatry. Oct 19, 2025; 15(10): 108712 Published online Oct 19, 2025. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v15.i10.108712
Anxiety and depression in patients with hepatobiliary and pancreatic malignancies: Influence of disease stage and psychosocial factors
Xiao Yu, Xiao He, Shuai Wang
Xiao Yu, Shuai Wang, Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Jingzhou Hospital Affiliated to Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434020, Hubei Province, China
Xiao He, Department of Psychiatry, Jingzhou Mental Health Center, Jingzhou 434000, Hubei Province, China
Co-first authors: Xiao Yu and Xiao He.
Author contributions: Yu X and He X designed the research study; Yu X and He X performed the primary literature review and data extraction; Yu X and He X analyzed the data and wrote the manuscript; Yu X and Wang L revised the manuscript for important intellectual content, jointly designed the research framework and methodology, performed literature review, data extraction, and data analysis; Yu X and He X co-drafted the manuscript and revised it critically for intellectual content. All authors have read and approved the final version.
Institutional review board statement: This study was reviewed and approved by the Science and Research Office of Jingzhou Hospital Affiliated to Yangtze University (NO.2025-117-01).
Informed consent statement: All study participants or their legal guardians provided written informed consent for personal and medical data collection before enrollment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Shuai Wang, PhD, Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Jingzhou Hospital Affiliated to Yangtze University, Chuyuan Avenue, Jingzhou District, Jingzhou 434020, Hubei Province, China. l10095@yangtzeu.edu.cn
Received: June 24, 2025 Revised: July 25, 2025 Accepted: August 13, 2025 Published online: October 19, 2025 Processing time: 94 Days and 1.3 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Hepatobiliary and pancreatic malignancies, with their aggressiveness and poor prognosis, often trigger anxiety and depression in patients, but the roles of disease stage and psychosocial factors in this remain unclear.
AIM
To explore the clinical characteristics and factors influencing comorbid anxiety and depression in patients with malignant liver, gallbladder, and pancreatic tumors.
METHODS
This study enrolled 150 participants, including 48 patients with early stage (IA-IB) hepatobiliary and pancreatic malignancies (Control Group 1), 52 patients with middle-stage (IIA-IIIA) tumors (Observation Group), and 50 healthy individuals undergoing physical examination (Control Group 2). Anxiety and depression detection rates, and scores on the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS), and Life Event Scale were compared across groups. The factors influencing emotion of each patient were collected and analyzed by group.
RESULTS
Anxiety and depression detection rates were significantly higher in the Observation Group (82.69% and 92.31%, respectively; P < 0.05) than those in Control Groups 1 (62.50% and 66.67%, respectively) and 2 (10.00% and 8.00%, respectively). SAS and SDS scores showed similar trends. Life event stress scores and the presence of influencing factors, such as treatment side effects, pain, and economic burden, were also significantly elevated in the Observation Group. These findings suggest that psychological distress worsens as the disease progresses.
CONCLUSION
Patients with hepatobiliary and pancreatic malignancies are prone to comorbid anxiety and depression, with increasing severity in the later disease stages. Despite the relatively small sample size, our findings suggest the need for psychological assessments and interventions in comprehensive cancer care. Future studies should consider expanding the sample size to enhance generalizability. Strengthening psychosocial support may improve patient outcomes and quality of life.
Core Tip: Patients with hepatobiliary and pancreatic malignancies often experience comorbid anxiety and depression; however, the association between disease stage and psychological status remains unclear. This study uniquely compared early-stage (IA-IB) and intermediate-stage (IIA-IIIA) patients with healthy controls. Significantly higher anxiety detection rates and life event scores were observed in intermediate-stage patients, highlighting disease progression as a key burden. We propose integrating psychological interventions into comprehensive cancer care to enhance treatment efficacy and quality of life.
