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Hope therapy in cancer patients: a systematic review

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Abstract

Aim

To identify the associated factors of hope therapy during treatment in cancer patients.

Background

Hope is very important to cancer patients at all stages of the disease process. Several and different factors are associated with hope.

Design

A systematic literature review of quantitative empirical studies on hope and quality of life in cancer patients.

Data Sources

Search in MEDLINE, Psychinfo, and Cochrane (January 2010–December 2020).

Review methods

A coherent search strategy was designed where MESH terms were combined with “free text” terms: hope (e.g., hope therapy, Herth Hope Index, quality of life) and cancer (e.g. neoplasm, tumor). Two authors independently screened all the studies and assessed their quality.

Results

Twenty studies were included. The overall score of Herth Hope Index in cancer patients was 36.93, and the overall score of quality of life in cancer patients were 47.52. Also, the trend of quality of life and Herth Hope Index in cancer patients has been decreasing, from 2010 to 2020.

Conclusions

This systematic literature review of associated factors of hope in cancer patients receiving treatment shows that hope seems to be positively related mainly by intrinsic factors, such as perceived health, quality of life, and social support.

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Data availability

Not applicable.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Shahid Beheshti Cancer Research Center.

Funding

This study was supported by Shahid Beheshti Medical Science.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of DBA, Oxford University, London, UK

    Hamed Salimi

  2. Cancer Research Centre (CRC), Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Haniyeh Bashi Zadeh Fakhar, Mohammad Hadizadeh, MohammadEsmaeil Akbari & Hosna Akbari

  3. Cancer Research Center, Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health and Safety, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Neda Izadi

  4. Department of Psychology, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran

    Reza MohamadiRad

  5. Chalous Branch, Islamic Azad University, Chalous, Iran

    Ramtin Hoseini

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  1. Hamed Salimi
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  2. Haniyeh Bashi Zadeh Fakhar
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Contributions

All authors made substantial contributions to conception and design, or acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data; involved in drafting the manuscript or revising it critically for important intellectual content; and given final approval of the version to be published. Each author should have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for appropriate portions of the content and agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

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Correspondence to Haniyeh Bashi Zadeh Fakhar.

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Salimi, H., Zadeh Fakhar, H.B., Hadizadeh, M. et al. Hope therapy in cancer patients: a systematic review. Support Care Cancer 30, 4675–4685 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-022-06831-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-022-06831-y

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