ArticlePsycho-oncology2014
The validity of the distress thermometer in prostate cancer populations.
Article in Psycho-oncology, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05806255 (Remote Self-Reporting of Symptoms by Patients With Palliative Care Needs), which is not on this map. Cited by 50 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Remote Self-Reporting of Symptoms by Patients With Palliative Care Needs (RELIEF): A Mixed-Methods Implementation Study
Who cites it
50 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Mental Health Screening Tools for Cancer Patients, and Their Caregivers: An Umbrella Review.Psycho-oncology · 2026Pooled it
- Distress Management, Version 3.2019, NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology.Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network : JNCCN · 2019Guideline
- Pooled it
- The diagnostic role of a short screening tool--the distress thermometer: a meta-analysis.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2014Pooled it
- Can exercise delay transition to active therapy in men with low-grade prostate cancer? A multicentre randomised controlled trial.BMJ open · 2018Trial
- Evaluation of coping as a mediator of the relationship between stressful life events and cancer-related distress.Health psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association · 2017Trial
- Effects of web-based instruction and patient preferences on patient-reported outcomes and learning for women with advanced ovarian cancer: A randomized controlled trial.Journal of psychosocial oncologyTrial
- Distress level in newly diagnosed thyroid cancer patients and predictors of clinically significant distress.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026Article
- Patient experience preparing for prostate cancer radiotherapy.Technical innovations & patient support in radiation oncology · 2025Article
- Exploring Unmet Needs in Prostate Cancer Care: A Cross-sectional Descriptive Study.European urology open science · 2024Article
- Article
- Exploring the Relationship Between Health-Illness Transition Experiences and Distress Among Patients With Pancreatic Cancer.Oncology nursing forum · 2023Article
- Skin Distress Screening: Validation of an Efficient One-question Tool.Acta dermato-venereologica · 2023Article
- Resilience as a Factor Influencing Psychological Distress Experience in Patients with Neuro-Oncological Disease.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2022Article
- The Patient Health Engagement Model in Cancer Management: Effect of Physical Activity, Distress Management, and Social Support Intervention to Improve the Quality of Life in Breast Cancer Patients.International journal of breast cancer · 2022Article
- The association between psychological functioning and social support and social constraint after cancer diagnosis: a 30-day daily diary study.Journal of behavioral medicine · 2021Article
- Men's sexual help-seeking and care needs after radical prostatectomy or other non-hormonal, active prostate cancer treatments.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2021Article
- Determinants of adherence to physical cancer rehabilitation guidelines among cancer patients and cancer centers: a cross-sectional observational study.Journal of cancer survivorship : research and practice · 2021Observational
- Depression and prostate cancer: implications for urologists and oncologists.Nature reviews. Urology · 2020Review
- Newly diagnosed patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer: A clinical description of those with moderate to severe depressive symptoms.Lung cancer (Amsterdam, Netherlands) · 2020Observational
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe Distress Thermometer (DT) is widely recommended for screening for distress after cancer. However, the validity of the DT in men with prostate cancer and over differing time points from diagnosis has not been well examined.
methodReceiver operating characteristics analyses were used to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the DT compared with three commonly used standardised scales in two prospective and one cross-sectional survey of men with prostate cancer (n = 740, 189 and 463, respectively). Comparison scales included the Impact of Event Scale - Revised (IES-R, Study 1), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS, Study 2) and the Brief Symptom Inventory-18 (BSI-18, Study 3).
resultsStudy 1: the DT showed good accuracy against the IES-R at all time points (area under curves (AUCs) ranging from 0.84 to 0.88) and sensitivity was high (>85%). Study 2: the DT performed well against both the anxiety and depression subscales for HADS at baseline (AUC = 0.84 and 0.82, respectively), but sensitivity decreased substantially after 12 months. Study 3: validity was high for the anxiety (AUC = 0.90, sensitivity = 90%) and depression (AUC = 0.85, sensitivity = 74%) subscales of the BSI-18 but was poorer for somatization (AUC = 0.67, sensitivity = 52%). A DT cut-off between ≥3 and ≥6 maximised sensitivity and specificity across analyses.
conclusionsThe DT is a valid tool to detect cancer-specific distress, anxiety and depression among prostate cancer patients, particularly close to diagnosis. A cut-off of ≥4 may be optimal soon after diagnosis, and for longer-term assessments, ≥3 was supported. © 2013 The Authors. Psycho-Oncology published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.