Best Practice Guidelines and Models for Depression Management in the Oncology Setting

Dr. Wells-Di Gregorio is a clinical psychologist specializing in outpatient psychosocial oncology and palliative medicine whose research focuses broadly on symptom management and communication for patients and families living with advanced cancer. Her lab’s primary goal is to improve methods for screening oncology-related physical symptoms as well as emotional, practical, cognitive and spiritual needs.

Their second goal is to translate what is known about effective interventions for symptoms such as anxiety, insomnia, depression, fatigue and pain in the general population into interventions that are accessible and effective for patients with significant illness, limited energy and multiple appointments. This includes training oncology providers to enhance symptom management, communication, and decision-making, particularly for patients at the end of life.

Their final goal is to better understand the mechanisms of symptom clustering for patients with advanced cancer. As such, they are investigating the role of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines as well as endocrine pathways (e.g., cortisol, epinephrine, norepinephrine) in a specific cluster of symptoms – anxiety-insomnia-depression-fatigue-pain.