New-Onset Mental Health Issue After Cancer Diagnosis Tied to Higher Risk for Death

FRIDAY, Feb. 27, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Adult patients with cancer who experience a new-onset mental health disorder (MHD) have an increased risk for death, according to a study published online Feb. 23 in Cancer.

Amir Ashraf Ganjouei, M.D., from University of California San Francisco (UCSF), and colleagues assessed patterns in the emergence of new MHDs within the first year following a cancer diagnosis. The analysis included aggregated data of 371,897 adult patients seen at University of California-affiliated hospitals with a cancer diagnosis and no documented MHDs before cancer diagnosis between 2013 and 2023.

The researchers found that following an incident cancer diagnosis, 10.6 percent of patients developed a new MHD within a year. Of these, 35.0 percent were newly prescribed one or more oral psychotropic medications. In an adjusted analysis, early MHD was associated with increased all-cause mortality in the initial 12 through 35 months (hazard ratio [HR], 1.51; 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.47 to 1.56). This risk diminished at 36 through 59 months (HR, 1.17; 95 percent CI, 1.11 to 1.24) and at 60 through 120 months (HR, 0.95; 95 percent CI, 0.89 to 1.01).

“Over the past several years, we’ve had an increasing appreciation for the important relationship between cancer, its treatment, and mental health,” lead author Julian Hong, M.D., also from UCSF, said in a statement. “This study reproduces our prior work by leveraging the shared experience across the University of California system, reinforcing a relationship between mental health conditions and mortality for patients with cancer and highlighting the need to prioritize and manage mental health.”

Abstract/Full Text