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World J Psychiatry. Jun 19, 2026; 16(6): 114112
Published online Jun 19, 2026. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v16.i6.114112
Published online Jun 19, 2026. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v16.i6.114112
Psychological state and body image disturbance in head and neck cancer patients: Prevalence and determinants
Xu-Dong Gao, Yu Ding, An Li, Yu-Juan Wang, Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Shaanxi Provincial People’s Hospital, Xi’an 710068, Shaanxi Province, China
Xin Chen, Breast Diagnosis and Treatment Center, Shaanxi Provincial People’s Hospital, Xi’an 710068, Shaanxi Province, China
Author contributions: Gao XD designed the research and wrote the first manuscript; Gao XD, Ding Y, Li A, and Chen X contributed to conceiving the research and analyzing data; Gao XD and Wang YJ conducted the analysis and provided guidance for the research; and all authors reviewed and approved the final manuscript.
Supported by the Shaanxi Provincial Natural Science Basic Research Program, No. 2023-JC-YB-769.
Institutional review board statement: This study was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Shaanxi Provincial People’s Hospital.
Informed consent statement: Patients were not required to give informed consent to the study because the analysis used anonymous clinical data that were obtained after each patient agreed to treatment by written consent.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement-checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement-checklist of items.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Corresponding author: Yu-Juan Wang, PhD, Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Shaanxi Provincial People’s Hospital, No. 256 Youyi West Road, Xi’an 710068, Shaanxi Province, China. wyujqz@126.com
Received: November 14, 2025
Revised: January 10, 2026
Accepted: March 3, 2026
Published online: June 19, 2026
Processing time: 195 Days and 1.2 Hours
Revised: January 10, 2026
Accepted: March 3, 2026
Published online: June 19, 2026
Processing time: 195 Days and 1.2 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: This study assessed the psychological state and body image disturbance (BID) in patients with head and neck cancer and examined associated determinants. Among 100 head and neck cancer patients, mild psychological distress and moderate BID were observed. Female sex, stage III-IV disease, multimodal therapy, unemployment, and coexisting anxiety or depression were associated with a higher risk of BID, with female sex and multimodal therapy exerting the most significant effects.