TY - JOUR PY - 2020// TI - Suicidality in patients with brain tumors: a brief literature review with clinical exemplar JO - Medicina (Lithuania) A1 - Costanza, Alessandra A1 - Zenga, Francesco A1 - Rudà, Roberta A1 - Amerio, Andrea A1 - Aguglia, Andrea A1 - Serafini, Gianluca A1 - Amore, Mario A1 - Bondolfi, Guido A1 - Berardelli, Isabella A1 - Nguyen, Khoa Dinh SP - e725 EP - e725 VL - 56 IS - 12 N2 - BACKGROUND: Suicidality and brain tumors are two life-threatening conditions and, somewhat unexpectedly, the associations between them have scarcely been reported.

OBJECTIVE: In this study, we aimed to provide a brief literature review of epidemiological studies on suicidal ideation (SI) and suicidal behavior (SB) in patients with brain tumors. To illustrate various aspects of brain tumors that potentially underlie the emergence of suicidality, the review is supplemented with a clinical exemplar of a long-term survivor of brain tumor (glioblastoma) who experienced persistent SI. Furthermore, we discuss putative both neurobiological (including anatomical and immunological) and psychosocial mechanisms that might be accountable for the development of SI and SB in patients with brain tumors.

CONCLUSIONS: While the etiology of this phenomenon appears to be multifactorial and still remains a subject of much debate, it is of critical importance to identify patients for which a psychiatric evaluation could recognize, in a timely manner, a possible suicide risk and alleviate the deep related suffering, by appropriate psychopharmacological and supportive and psychotherapeutic interventions.

Language: en

LA - en SN - 1010-660X UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/medicina56120725 ID - ref1 ER -