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Psychophysiologic Assessment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Breast Cancer Patients

Received March 3, 2000; revised June 21, 2000; accepted September 6, 2000. From VA Research Service, Manchester, New Hampshire and the Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts. Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Pitman at PTSD Research Laboratory, MGH-East, Building 149, 13th Street, Charlestown, MA 02129; E-mail roger_pitman{at}hms.harvard.edu

The authors performed psychodiagnostic, psychometric, and psychophysiologic evaluations on 37 patients referred by local surgeons approximately 2 years after tissue diagnosis of Stage I to III breast cancer. The Clinician-Administered Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Scale (CAPS) was used to classify patients into the following groups: "Current PTSD" (n=5) "Past PTSD" (n=7), and "Never had PTSD" (n=25). Individualized "scripts" portraying personal life events were tape recorded and played back to the patients in the laboratory. Current PTSD patients showed significantly higher heart rate, skin conductance, and corrugator electromyogram responses during imagery of their personal breast cancer experiences than Past and Never patients. Physiologic responses were significantly and positively correlated with CAPS scores. These results provide psychophysiologic support for the proposition that a diagnosis of with a life-threatening illness can cause PTSD.

Key Words: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder • Breast Cancer • Stress Disorder

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