Purpose: Men receiving androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) for prostate cancer may be at risk for cognitive impairment; however, evidence is mixed in the existing literature. Our study examined the impact of ADT on impaired cognitive performance and explored potential demographic and genetic predictors of impaired performance.Patients and Methods: Patients with prostate cancer were assessed before or within 21 days of starting ADT (n = 58) and 6 and 12 months later. Age- and education-matched patients with prostate cancer treated with prostatectomy only (n = 84) and men without prostate cancer (n = 88) were assessed at similar intervals. Participants provided baseline blood samples for genotyping. Mean-level cognitive performance was compared using mixed models; cognitive impairment was compared using generalized estimating equations.Results: ADT recipients demonstrated higher rates of impaired cognitive performance over time relative to all controls (P = .01). Groups did not differ at baseline (P > .05); however, ADT recipients were more likely to demonstrate impaired performance within 6 and 12 months (P for both comparisons < .05). Baseline age, cognitive reserve, depressive symptoms, fatigue, and hot flash interference did not moderate the impact of ADT on impaired cognitive performance (P for all comparisons ≥ .09). In exploratory genetic analyses, GNB3 single-nucleotide polymorphism rs1047776 was associated with increased rates of impaired performance over time in the ADT group (P < .001).Conclusion: Men treated with ADT were more likely to demonstrate impaired cognitive performance within 6 months after starting ADT relative to matched controls and to continue to do so within 12 months after starting ADT. If confirmed, findings may have implications for patient education regarding the risks and benefits of ADT.

Objective: Previous research has shown that lung cancer patients are at an increased risk for depressive symptomatology; however, little is known about the factors contributing to depression in these patients. This study focused on the possible association between perceived stigma related to a lung cancer diagnosis and depressive symptomatology. It was hypothesized that greater perceived stigma would be related to greater depressive symptomatology and that perceived stigma would account for variance in depressive symptomatology above and beyond that accounted for by relevant clinical, demographic, and psychosocial variables.Method: A sample of 95 participants receiving chemotherapy for stage II–IV non‐small cell lung cancer was recruited during routine outpatient chemotherapy visits. Participants completed a demographic questionnaire and self‐report measures assessing perceived stigma, depressive symptomatology, and other psychosocial variables. A medical chart review was conducted to assess clinical factors.Results: As hypothesized, there was a positive association between perceived stigma and depressive symptomatology, r = 0.46, p<0.001. Perceived stigma also accounted for significant unique variance in depressive symptomatology above and beyond that accounted for by relevant demographic, clinical, and psychosocial factors, β = 0.19, p<0.05.Conclusions: Future research should aim to replicate and extend these findings in longitudinal studies and explore whether lung cancer patients' depressive symptomatology can be ameliorated by targeting perceived stigma. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Background: Social isolation and connectedness are social determinants of health that have demonstrated effects on cancer‐related outcomes. These constructs have been systematically evaluated among pediatric and older adult cancer populations. In this review, the authors evaluated the prevalence, correlates, and psychosocial implications of social isolation and connectedness among young adult (YA) cancer survivors aged 18–39 years.Methods: Peer‐reviewed articles published in English before June 2021 were identified from database searches and included articles' reference lists according to PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses) guidelines. Included articles described studies that assessed social isolation and/or connectedness among YA cancer survivors.Results: In total, 5094 unique records were identified; 4143 were excluded after title/abstract screening, and 907 were excluded after full‐text review. Forty‐four articles were included. Few studies used validated measures or directly assessed social isolation or connectedness. Social isolation was similarly prevalent among YAs and older cancer survivors and noncancer populations. Demographic, clinical, and behavioral risk and protective factors for social isolation were identified. Social isolation was related to worse psychological well‐being, whereas social connectedness was often, but not always, related to better psychological well‐being.Conclusions: This growing literature underscores the relevance of social isolation and connectedness as important health determinants among YA cancer survivors. The identified risk and protective factors can identify YAs who especially may benefit from screening for social isolation. Future studies are needed that directly, reliably, and validly evaluate social isolation and connectedness to inform the development of interventions to decrease isolation and increase connectedness.

Exposures to carcinogens in hair products have been explored as breast cancer risk factors, yielding equivocal findings. We examined hair product use (hair dyes, chemical relaxers and cholesterol or placenta-containing conditioners) among African American (AA) and White women, and explored associations with breast cancer. Multivariable-adjusted models were used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to describe the associations of interest among 2280 cases (1508 AA and 772 White) and 2005 controls (1290 AA and 715 White). Among controls, hair dye use was more common among Whites than AAs (58 versus 30%), while relaxer (88 versus 5%) and deep conditioner use (59 versus 6%) was more common among AAs. Among AAs, use of dark hair dye shades was associated with increased breast cancer risk (OR = 1.51, 95% CI: 1.20–1.90) and use of dark shades (OR = 1.72, 95% CI: 1.30–2.26) and higher frequency of use (OR = 1.36, 95% CI: 1.01–1.84) were associated with ER+ disease. Among Whites, relaxer use (OR = 1.74, 95% CI: 1.11–2.74) and dual use of relaxers and hair dyes (OR = 2.40, 95% CI: 1.35–4.27) was associated with breast cancer; use of dark hair dyes was associated with increased ER+ disease (OR = 1.54, 95% CI: 1.01–2.33), and relaxer use was associated with increased ER– disease (OR = 2.56, 95% CI: 1.06–6.16). These novel findings provide support a relationship between the use of some hair products and breast cancer. Further examinations of hair products as important exposures contributing to breast cancer carcinogenesis are necessary.

There is growing empirical and clinical interest in purported associations between smoking and the aggravation of cancer symptoms and treatment side effects, such as pain. Both pain and smoking are highly prevalent among persons with cancer, and there is recent evidence to suggest that cancer patients who continue to smoke despite their diagnosis experience greater pain than nonsmokers. Accordingly, the main goal of this cross-sectional study was to examine associations between multiple levels of smoking status and several pain-related outcomes among a sample of 224 cancer patients about to begin chemotherapy. Patients completed self-report measures of pain severity, pain-related distress, and pain-related interference, as well as a demographics questionnaire. Results indicated that persons who continued to smoke despite being diagnosed with cancer reported more severe pain than never smokers, F (2, 215)=3.47, p<.05. Current smokers also reported greater interference from pain than either former or never smokers, F (2, 215)=5.61, p<.01. Among former smokers, an inverse relation between pain severity and the number of years since quitting smoking was observed, r (104)=-.26, p<.01. These data suggest that continued smoking despite a cancer diagnosis is associated with greater pain severity and interference from pain; however, future research is warranted to determine the directionality of this relationship.