New treatment of depression in cancer patients has had promising results

Two trials testing a new approach to managing depression in cancer patients, which is often overlooked or ignored, have shown positive results.

A survey of more than 21,000 patients in Scotland found rates of clinical depression ranging from 6% to 13% among cancer patients, compared with a prevalence of just 2% in the general population.

Of the 1,130 who had been diagnosed, almost three quarters (73%) were not receiving any kind of effective treatment.