Depression has been repeatedly found to have a major impact on quality of life in people with medical conditions like cancer. But only a minority of cancer patients with major depression receive adequate treatment. ‘Depression Care for People with Cancer’ has been developed by PMR to address this problem. A specially trained cancer nurse, supervised by a psychiatrist, supplements the patient’s usual care. The nurse monitors the patient’s symptoms and liaises with their GP and cancer team to coordinate their depression care. The nurse also provides a brief psychological treatment.

Aim:
To find out if ‘Depression Care for People with Cancer’ is more effective and also more cost effective than usual care in treating major depression in a representative sample of cancer patients who have a good prognosis.

Description:
A 500 patient multi-centre trial of the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of a complex intervention called 'Depression Care for People with Cancer'.

Status:
Recruitment complete.

Funding: