Study of Anxiety in African American Men With Prostate Cancer

OBJECTIVES:

Primary

- To establish the psychometric properties of the Memorial Anxiety Scale for Prostate
Cancer (MAX-PC) in African American men with prostate cancer.

- To establish the reliability of the MAX-PC in African American men with prostate
cancer.

- To establish the validity of the MAX-PC in African American men with prostate cancer.

- To confirm the factor structure of the MAX-PC in this sample.

- To test the sensitivity to change of the MAX-PC in this sample.

Secondary

- To explore the prevalence of distress, anxiety, and depression in African American men
with prostate cancer.

OUTLINE: This is a multicenter study.

All patients complete a 5-minute Memorial Anxiety Scale for Prostate Cancer (MAX-PC)
questionnaire measuring general prostate cancer anxiety, PSA anxiety, and fear of recurrence
either in person or by phone. They will complete six other questionnaires, each requiring 5
minutes to complete, and focusing on anxiety, depression, and quality of life measures.
These include the demographic questionnaire; the Distress Thermometer visual analogue scale;
the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS); the Functional Assessment of Cancer
Therapy Scale-Prostate (FACT-P); the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale
(CES-D) assessing the frequency of depressive symptoms the patient experienced in the past
week; and the Karnofsky Patient Performance Rating Scale (KPRS). Within 1 week after
receiving their PSA test results, some patients will undergo an additional telephone
interview conducted by a research study assistant to complete the MAX-PC, the HADS, and the
Distress Thermometer questionnaires.

PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 150 patients (75 patients with early stage disease and 75
patients with late stage disease) will be accrued for this study.

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

- Diagnosis of prostate cancer

- Early stage disease (T1or T2, N0, M0)

- Advanced stage disease meeting 1 of the following criteria:

- Locally advanced disease (T3 or T4, N0, M0)

- Metastatic disease (T3 or T4, N1-3 or M1a-c)

- Undergoing monitoring for prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels

- Men who identify themselves as Black, African-American, or men of African descent and
non-Hispanic will be eligible for the study

- "Black, African American, or of African descent" will be defined as men having
origins in any black racial groups of Africa

- "Haitian" will be used in addition to "Black" or "African American" to help
clarify this group

- Men who identify themselves as Black and Hispanic are included

- "Hispanic" will be defined as a person of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban,
South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin

- "Latino" and "Spanish origin" will be used in addition to "Hispanic" to
help clarify this group

- No other non-Black or non-African American ethnic groups

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

- Able to comprehend and complete questionnaires in English

- No major psychopathology or cognitive impairment likely, in the judgment of the
research staff, to interfere with the participation or completion of the protocol

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

- Not specified