Effects of different hemispheric gliomas on depression and prognosis in neurosurgery patients.

Background: Depression is common in patients with gliomas, but few studies focused on the association between depression and glioma laterality.

Aims: This study was purposed to investigate depression difference and prognostic value between patients with left-hemispheric gliomas and right-hemispheric gliomas.

Methods: This study included 212 patients with left-hemispheric gliomas and 218 patients with right-hemispheric gliomas. Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and Zung self-rating depression scale (SDS) were independently performed before surgery, 3 months and 6 months after surgery. All patients were followed up to death or 36 months. Overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were performed to evaluate the survival of glioma patients.

Results: The preoperative prevalence and scores of depression in patients with left-hemispheric gliomas were higher than those in patients with right-hemispheric gliomas. But there were no differences in postoperative prevalence and scores of depression between patients with left-hemispheric gliomas and right-hemispheric gliomas. In patients with left-hemispheric gliomas or with right-hemispheric gliomas, the preoperative scores of depression were higher than postoperative scores of depression, whereas there was no difference in depression score between 3 months after surgery and 6 months after surgery. In addition, patients with right-hemispheric gliomas had better PFS and OS than patients with left-hemispheric gliomas.

Conclusions: Patients with left-hemispheric gliomas are more likely to bring about depression than patients with right-hemispheric gliomas. Besides, patients with right-hemispheric gliomas are more likely to have better survival than patients with left-hemispheric gliomas. Surgery is considered as a useful treatment to alleviate depression of glioma patients.