Psychosocial Interventions for Patients Undergoing Gastrointestinal Cancer Surgery: A Systematic Review.

Abstract

Psychosocial interventions may address the psychosocial challenges associated with a cancer diagnosis and treatment. Limited research exists on their effectiveness for patients undergoing gastrointestinal cancer surgery. The objective of this study was to summarize existing evidence on psychosocial interventions for patients with gastrointestinal cancer undergoing surgery by characterizing interventions and assessing their impact on quality of life, anxiety, and depression. We searched five electronic databases on 1 December 2023 (updated 20 December 2024) to identify randomized controlled trials evaluating psychosocial interventions in adult patients with gastrointestinal cancer undergoing surgical treatment. We performed title and abstract screening and full text review, followed by data abstraction and narrative synthesis to describe intervention characteristics and their impact on quality of life, anxiety, and depression. A total of 27 studies published between 2005 and 2024 were included. Interventions varied by therapeutic modality and included education (n = 4, 14.8%), behavioral training (n = 4, 14.8%), psychotherapy (n = 4, 14.8%), emotional support (n = 2, 7.4%), education and emotional support (n = 9, 33.3%), and other multimodal strategies (n = 4, 14.8%). Among the studies that assessed impact on quality of life, anxiety, and/or depression, significant improvements were reported in quality of life (9/16, 56.3%), anxiety (12/16, 75%), and depression (8/12, 66.7%). This review provides evidence that psychosocial interventions may improve quality of life, anxiety, and depression in patients with gastrointestinal cancer undergoing surgery. However, the interventions varied widely by therapeutic modality, delivery setting, mode of delivery, timing, and duration. Further research is needed to identify the most effective intervention components and target subpopulations.