Psycho-oncology in India

Abstract

Psychosocial care is essential for high-quality cancer care. Psycho-oncology is a developing discipline globally. A narrative review was conducted of studies published in India from 2000 to 2024 on psychosocial care in patients with cancer. Of 233 papers identified, 85 were included. Distress rates ranged from 22 % to 62 % with the highest being in head and neck and breast cancer. Seven tools for measuring distress have been validated in a few Indian languages. Cancer-related communication revealed high rates of collusion and use of euphemisms. There is a paucity of intervention studies. Few studies described psychosocial issues in children and adolescents and older adults.Therefore, future high-quality intervention and outcome studies are required. There is an urgent need for the inclusion of psycho-oncology in national cancer control policy globally.

Keywords: Cancer; India; Policy; Psycho-oncology; Psychosocial.