Skip to content
2000
image of Artificial Intelligence-generated Psychological Counseling for Cancer Patients

Abstract

Background

Cancer patients often endure significant psychological challenges, including anxiety, depression, and stress, which substantially affect their quality of life. Traditional psychological support, though effective, is frequently under-integrated into oncology care, leading to unmet mental health needs.

Objective

This comprehensive review explores the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in addressing these psychological challenges.

Method

AI in psychological counseling: AI-driven tools, such as chatbots and virtual therapists, offer innovative solutions for providing personalized, continuous, and accessible mental health support. These tools can analyze patient data to tailor interventions, thereby improving mental health outcomes.

Results

The review highlights various AI applications, including PINK! Coach, Woebot, and Ellipsis Health Voice Tool, and their effectiveness in reducing anxiety, depression, and psychosocial stress in cancer patients. Furthermore, studies indicate that AI interventions can achieve comparable results to traditional therapy, with additional benefits like increased accessibility and continuous monitoring. However, challenges such as data privacy, ethical concerns, and the need for high-quality training data remain.

Conclusion

By examining current research and case studies, this review provides insights into integrating AI into oncology care, emphasizing its potential to enhance the mental health and quality of life of cancer patients. The findings underscore the importance of multidisciplinary approaches and the need for further research to optimize AI-driven psychological interventions in cancer care.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/cprr/10.2174/0126660822338819250214064950
2025-01-21
2025-03-30
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Van Beek F.E. Wijnhoven L.M.A. Holtmaat K. Custers J.A.E. Prins J.B. Verdonck-de Leeuw I.M. Jansen F. Psychological problems among cancer patients in relation to healthcare and societal costs: A systematic review. Psycho. oncology 2021 30 11 1801 1835 10.1002/pon.5753 34228838
    [Google Scholar]
  2. Wang Y. Feng W. Cancer-related psychosocial challenges. Gen. Psychiatr. 2022 35 5 e100871 10.1136/gpsych‑2022‑100871 36311374
    [Google Scholar]
  3. Pitman A. Suleman S. Hyde N. Hodgkiss A. Depression and anxiety in patients with cancer. BMJ 2018 361 8150 k1415 10.1136/bmj.k1415 29695476
    [Google Scholar]
  4. Niedzwiedz C.L. Knifton L. Robb K.A. Katikireddi S.V. Smith D.J. Depression and anxiety among people living with and beyond cancer: A growing clinical and research priority. BMC. Cancer. 2019 19 1 943 10.1186/s12885‑019‑6181‑4 31604468
    [Google Scholar]
  5. Dekker J. Karchoud J. Braamse A.M.J. Buiting H. Konings I.R.H.M. van Linde M.E. Schuurhuizen C.S.E.W. Sprangers M.A.G. Beekman A.T.F. Verheul H.M.W. Clinical management of emotions in patients with cancer: Introducing the approach “emotional support and case finding”. Transl. Behav. Med. 2020 10 6 ibaa115 10.1093/tbm/ibaa115 33200793
    [Google Scholar]
  6. Naser A.Y. Hameed A.N. Mustafa N. Alwafi H. Dahmash E.Z. Alyami H.S. Khalil H. Depression and anxiety in patients with cancer: A cross-sectional study. Front. Psychol. 2021 12 585534 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.585534 33935849
    [Google Scholar]
  7. Hulbert-Williams N.J. Beatty L. Dhillon H.M. Psychological support for patients with cancer: Evidence review and suggestions for future directions. Curr. Opin. Support. Palliat. Care 2018 12 3 276 292 10.1097/SPC.0000000000000360 30074924
    [Google Scholar]
  8. Caruso R. Breitbart W. Mental health care in oncology. Contemporary perspective on the psychosocial burden of cancer and evidence-based interventions. Epidemiol. Psychiatr. Sci. 2020 29 e86 10.1017/S2045796019000866 31915100
    [Google Scholar]
  9. Nakao M. Shirotsuki K. Sugaya N. Cognitive–behavioral therapy for management of mental health and stress-related disorders: Recent advances in techniques and technologies. Biopsychosoc. Med. 2021 15 1 16 10.1186/s13030‑021‑00219‑w 34602086
    [Google Scholar]
  10. Ben-Ari E. Meeting cancer survivors' psychosocial health needs. 2022 www.cancer.gov
  11. Smith G.L. Lopez-Olivo M.A. Advani P.G. Ning M.S. Geng Y. Giordano S.H. Volk R.J. Financial burdens of cancer treatment: A systematic review of risk factors and outcomes. J. Natl. Compr. Canc. Netw. 2019 17 10 1184 1192 10.6004/jnccn.2019.7305 31590147
    [Google Scholar]
  12. Stark D. Kiely M. Smith A. Velikova G. House A. Selby P. Anxiety disorders in cancer patients: Their nature, associations, and relation to quality of life. J. Clin. Oncol. 2002 20 14 3137 3148 10.1200/JCO.2002.08.549 12118028
    [Google Scholar]
  13. Greer J.A. Pirl W.F. Park E.R. Lynch T.J. Temel J.S. Behavioral and psychological predictors of chemotherapy adherence in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer. J. Psychosom. Res. 2008 65 6 549 552 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2008.03.005 19027443
    [Google Scholar]
  14. Carlson L.E. Speca M. Patel K.D. Goodey E. Mindfulness-based stress reduction in relation to quality of life, mood, symptoms of stress and levels of cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) and melatonin in breast and prostate cancer outpatients. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2004 29 4 448 474 10.1016/S0306‑4530(03)00054‑4 14749092
    [Google Scholar]
  15. Smith H.R. Depression in cancer patients: Pathogenesis, implications and treatment (Review). Oncol. Lett. 2015 9 4 1509 1514 10.3892/ol.2015.2944 25788991
    [Google Scholar]
  16. Adjustment to Cancer: Anxiety and Distress 2002 www.cancer.gov
  17. Hohls J.K. König H.H. Quirke E. Hajek A. Anxiety, depression and quality of life—a systematic review of evidence from longitudinal observational studies. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021 18 22 12022 10.3390/ijerph182212022 34831779
    [Google Scholar]
  18. Ostovar S. Modarresi Chahardehi A. Mohd Hashim I.H. Othman A. Kruk J. Griffiths M.D. Prevalence of psychological distress among cancer patients in Southeast Asian countries: A systematic review. Eur. J. Cancer Care (Engl.) 2022 31 6 e13669 10.1111/ecc.13669 35934684
    [Google Scholar]
  19. National Cancer Institute. Cancer-Related Post-traumatic Stress 2020 www.cancer.gov
  20. Cordova M.J. Riba M.B. Spiegel D. Post-traumatic stress disorder and cancer. Lancet. Psychiatry. 2017 4 4 330 338 10.1016/S2215‑0366(17)30014‑7 28109647
    [Google Scholar]
  21. Esplen M.J. Fingeret M.C. Body Image: An Important Dimension in Cancer Care. Oxford University Press 2021 303 310
    [Google Scholar]
  22. Üstündağ M.F. Özcan H. Yazla E. Kıvrak Y. Aydın E.F. Yılmaz M. Anxiety and depression symptoms, self-esteem and body image among patients with gynecological cancers: A cross-sectional study. Kafkas J. Med. Sci. 2017 7 3 214 219 10.5505/kjms.2017.73644
    [Google Scholar]
  23. Bahrami M Mohamadirizi M Mohamadirizi S Hosseini SA Evaluation of body image in cancer patients and its association with clinical variables. J. Educ. Health. Promot. 2017 6 81 10.4103/jehp.jehp_4_15
    [Google Scholar]
  24. Johns S.A. Tarver W.L. Secinti E. Mosher C.E. Stutz P.V. Carnahan J.L. Talib T.L. Shanahan M.L. Faidley M.T. Kidwell K.M. Rand K.L. Effects of mindfulness-based interventions on fatigue in cancer survivors: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Crit. Rev. Oncol. Hematol. 2021 160 103290 10.1016/j.critrevonc.2021.103290 33675902
    [Google Scholar]
  25. Lemos R. Areias-Marques S. Ferreira P. O’Brien P. Beltrán-Jaunsarás M.E. Ribeiro G. Martín M. del Monte-Millán M. López-Tarruella S. Massarrah T. Luís-Ferreira F. Frau G. Venios S. McManus G. Oliveira-Maia A.J. A prospective observational study for a Federated Artificial Intelligence solution for moniToring mental health status after cancer treatment (FAITH): Study protocol. BMC. Psychiatry. 2022 22 1 817 10.1186/s12888‑022‑04446‑5 36544126
    [Google Scholar]
  26. Azzani Meram Azhar Zahir Izuan Wee C.H. ubjective and objective financial toxicity among colorectal cancer patients: A systematic review. BMC. Cancer. 2024 24 1 40 10.1186/s12885‑023‑11814‑1
    [Google Scholar]
  27. Ngan T.T. Tien T.H. Donnelly M. Financial toxicity among cancer patients, survivors and their families in the United Kingdom: A scoping review. J. Public. Health. 2023 45 4 e702 10.1093/pubmed/fdad143
    [Google Scholar]
  28. Mayer R.S. Engle J. Rehabilitation of individuals with cancer. Ann. Rehabil. Med. 2022 46 2 60 70 10.5535/arm.22036 35508925
    [Google Scholar]
  29. Caminiti C Annunziata MA Di Giulio P Psychosocial impact of virtual cancer care through technology: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Cancers 2023 15 7 2090 10.3390/cancers15072090
    [Google Scholar]
  30. Chen Y. Lin F. Wang B. Tang Y. Li J. Xiong L. The development and validation of the psychological needs of cancer patients scale. Front. Psychol. 2021 12 658989 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.658989 34149546
    [Google Scholar]
  31. Leung Y.W. Ng S. Duan L. Lam C. Chan K. Gancarz M. Rennie H. Trachtenberg L. Chan K.P. Adikari A. Fang L. Gratzer D. Hirst G. Wong J. Esplen M.J. Therapist feedback and implications on adoption of an artificial intelligence–based co-facilitator for online cancer support groups: Mixed methods single-arm usability study. JMIR. Cancer. 2023 9 e40113 10.2196/40113 37294610
    [Google Scholar]
  32. Nunez JJ Leung B Ho C Ng RT Bates AT Predicting which patients with cancer will see a psychiatrist or counsellor from their initial oncology consultation document using natural language processing. Commun Med (Lond) 2024 4 1 69 10.1038/s43856‑024‑00495‑x
    [Google Scholar]
  33. Manz C.R. Zhang Y. Chen K. Long Q. Small D.S. Evans C.N. Chivers C. Regli S.H. Hanson C.W. Bekelman J.E. Braun J. Rareshide C.A.L. O’Connor N. Kumar P. Schuchter L.M. Shulman L.N. Patel M.S. Parikh R.B. Long-term effect of machine learning–triggered behavioral nudges on serious illness conversations and end-of-life outcomes among patients with cancer. JAMA. Oncol. 2023 9 3 414 418 10.1001/jamaoncol.2022.6303 36633868
    [Google Scholar]
  34. Wolff J. Smollich M. Wuelfing P. Mitchell J. Wuerstlein R. Harbeck N. Baumann F. App-based lifestyle intervention (PINK! Coach) in breast cancer patients: A real-world-data analysis. Cancers 2024 16 5 1020 10.3390/cancers16051020 38473378
    [Google Scholar]
  35. Xu L. Sanders L. Li K. Chow J.C.L. Chatbot for health care and oncology applications using artificial intelligence and machine learning: Systematic review. JMIR. Cancer. 2021 7 4 e27850 10.2196/27850 34847056
    [Google Scholar]
  36. Marshall J.M. Dunstan D.A. Bartik W. Effectiveness of using mental health mobile apps as digital antidepressants for reducing anxiety and depression: Protocol for a multiple baseline across-individuals design. JMIR Res. Protoc. 2020 9 7 e17159 10.2196/17159 32623368
    [Google Scholar]
  37. DeVault D. Artstein R. Benn G. SimSensei Kiosk: A virtual human interviewer for healthcare decision support. Proceedings of the 2014 International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems (AAMAS) Paris, France, 2014, pp. 1061-1068
    [Google Scholar]
  38. Kaal S.E.J. Evaluation of OncoKompas, a web-based self-management application to support health-related quality of life of cancer patients. Psychooncology 2020 29 8 1175 1185
    [Google Scholar]
  39. Fulmer R. Joerin A. Gentile B. Lakerink L. Rauws M. Using psychological artificial intelligence (Tess) to alleviate symptoms of depression and anxiety: randomized controlled trial. JMIR Ment. Health 2018 5 4 e64 10.2196/mental.9782 30545815
    [Google Scholar]
  40. Fauser D. Rimalis-Vogt E. Mattes J. Bethge M. Psychological interventions during breast cancer rehabilitation: A randomized controlled trial comparing structured short-term psychotherapy versus non-specific group discussion. BMC. Cancer. 2023 23 1 1133 10.1186/s12885‑023‑11576‑w 37990301
    [Google Scholar]
  41. Miner AS Shah N Bullock KD Arnow BA Bailenson J Hancock J Key considerations for incorporating conversational AI in psychotherapy. Front. Psychiatry. 2019 10 746 10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00746
    [Google Scholar]
  42. Liang Y Hao G Wu M Hou L Social isolation in adults with cancer: An evolutionary concept analysis. Front. Psychol. 2022 13 973640 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.973640
    [Google Scholar]
  43. Laranjo L. Dunn A.G. Tong H.L. Kocaballi A.B. Chen J. Bashir R. Surian D. Gallego B. Magrabi F. Lau A.Y.S. Coiera E. Conversational agents in healthcare: A systematic review. J. Am. Med. Inform. Assoc. 2018 25 9 1248 1258 10.1093/jamia/ocy072 30010941
    [Google Scholar]
  44. Fitzpatrick K.K. Darcy A. Vierhile M. Delivering cognitive behavior therapy to young adults with symptoms of depression and anxiety using a fully automated conversational agent (Woebot): A randomized controlled trial. JMIR Ment. Health 2017 4 2 e19 10.2196/mental.7785 28588005
    [Google Scholar]
  45. Gutierrez G Stephenson C Eadie J Asadpour K Alavi N Examining the role of AI technology in online mental healthcare: opportunities, challenges, and implications, a mixed-methods review. Front. Psychiatry. 2024 15 1356773 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1356773
    [Google Scholar]
  46. Gual-Montolio P Jaén I Martínez-Borba V Castilla D Suso-Ribera C. Using artificial intelligence to enhance ongoing psychological interventions for emotional problems in real- or close to real-time: A systematic review. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public. Health. 2022 19 13 7737 10.3390/ijerph19137737
    [Google Scholar]
  47. Farasati Far B. Artificial intelligence ethics in precision oncology: Balancing advancements in technology with patient privacy and autonomy. Explor Target Antitumor Ther. 2023 4 4 685 689 10.37349/etat.2023.00160 37720345
    [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/cprr/10.2174/0126660822338819250214064950
Loading
/content/journals/cprr/10.2174/0126660822338819250214064950
Loading

Data & Media loading...

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error
Please enter a valid_number test