Objective: Psychological distress is common in cancer patients, and awareness of its indicators is essential. We aimed to assess the prevalence of psychological distress and to identify problems indicative of high distress.Methods: We used the distress thermometer (DT) and its 34‐item problem list to measure psychological distress in 3724 cancer patients (mean age 58 years; 57% women) across major tumor entities, enrolled in an epidemiological multicenter study. To identify distress‐related problems, we conducted monothetic analyses.Results: We found high levels of psychological distress (DT ≥ 5) in 52% of patients. The most prevalent problems were fatigue (56%), sleep problems (51%), and problems getting around (47%). Sadness, fatigue, and sleep problems were most strongly associated with the presence of other problems. High distress was present in 81.4% of patients reporting all 3 of these problems (DT M = 6.4). When analyzing only the subset of physical problems, fatigue, problems getting around, and indigestion showed the strongest association with the remaining problems and 76.3% of patients with all 3 problems were highly distressed (DT M = 6.1).Conclusions: Our results show a high prevalence of psychological distress in cancer patients, as well as a set of problems that indicate the likely presence of other problems and high distress and can help clinicians identify distressed patients even if no routine distress screening is available.

Zielsetzung ist die systematische Zusammenfassung der empirischen Evidenz der 4-Wochen-, 12-Monats- und Lebenszeitprävalenz affektiver und Angststörungen bei Krebspatienten. Ausgewertet wurden 89 englisch- und deutschsprachige Original- sowie systematische Übersichtsarbeiten des Veröffentlichungszeitraums 1995–2010, die die Häufigkeiten affektiver und Angststörungen anhand strukturierter klinischer Interviews erfassten. Die adjustierten Prävalenzen wurden anhand eines Random-Intercept-Modells berechnet. Die adjustierte Punktprävalenz für affektive Störungen liegt bei 11,1% (95% CI 8,1–15,1), bezogen auf deutsche Studien bei 10,8% (95% CI 6,8–16,7). Die adjustierte Punktprävalenz für Angststörungen liegt bei 10,2% (95% CI 6,9–14,8), bezogen auf deutsche Studien bei 13,5% (95% CI 7,1–24,3). Die Ergebnisse zeigen den Forschungsbedarf an repräsentativen Studien, die neben der Prävalenz psychischer Störungen die Bandbreite psychosozialer Belastungen und supportive Unterstützungsbedürfnisse berücksichtigen. We aimed to systematically summarize the empirical evidence on the 4-week-, 12-month-, and lifetime prevalence of affective and anxiety disorders in cancer patients. We evaluated 89 English or German language original papers and systematic reviews that assessed the prevalence of affective and anxiety disorders using structured clinical interviews published between 1995 and 2010. Adjusted prevalence rates were calculated using a random-intercept model. The pooled adjusted 4-week prevalence of affective disorders was 11.1% (95% CI 8.1–15.1), and 10.8% (95% CI 6.8–16.7) based on German studies. The pooled adjusted 4-week prevalence of anxiety disorders was 10.2% (95% CI 6.9–14.8), and 13.5% (95% CI 7.1–24.3) based on German studies. The findings show the need for further research on representative studies that take into account the range of psychosocial stressors and supportive care needs in addition to the prevalence of mental disorders.