Influence of Psychological Intervention on the Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms for Patients with Liver Cancer: A Meta-Analysis

Objective This study aims to investigate the influence of psychological intervention on the anxiety and depressive symptoms for patients with liver cancer by conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods WanFang, CNKI, VIP and CBM databases were searched extensively to identify relevant clinical controlled trials. Data were analyzed by RevMan 5.1.6 software. Results were described as standardized mean difference （SMD） with 95% confidence intervals （CI）. Results A total of 9 clinical controlled trials involving 716 liver cancer patients were included in this systematic review, including 360 patients in psychological intervention group and 356 patients in control group. Meta-analysis showed that there was no significant difference between two groups in pre-intervention self-rating depression scale （SDS） scores （SMD 0.06, 95%CI -0.11~0.22, P=0.54） and pre-intervention self-rating anxiety scale （SAS） scores （SMD -0.03, 95%CI -0.18~0.13,P=0.72）. However, post-intervention SDS scores （SMD -1.55, 95%CI -1.75~-1.35, P<0.000 01） and post-intervention SAS scores （SMD -1.90, 95%CI -2.10~-1.71, P<0.000 01） had statistically significant differences. Conclusions The present data suggests that psychological intervention may relieve anxiety and depressive symptoms for patients with liver cancer. Further well-designed randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm or adjust current conclusions.