ENTWINE (systEmatic screeNing Tool for Women wIth gyNaecological cancEr)
This study evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of the Gynaecological Cancer Distress Screen (DT-Gyn), a tool developed to identify distress in women with gynaecological cancers. Cross-sectional data were collected from 373 women aged 19–91 who had recently completed treatment and were recruited through Australian cancer care services and advocacy organisations. Receiver operating characteristics analyses assessed the DT-Gyn against established measures of anxiety (GAD-7), depression (PHQ-9), and general distress (IES-R and K10).
Using the standard distress thermometer (DT) cut-off of 4, 47% of participants were classified as distressed, while a cut-off of 5 identified 40% with clinically relevant distress. The DT-Gyn demonstrated strong discriminant validity across all measures, with AUC values ranging from 0.85 to 0.89. The Youden Index indicated that a DT cut-point of 5 was optimal for detecting clinically relevant distress, anxiety, and depression.
The study confirmed the reliability and utility of the DT-Gyn as a targeted screening tool to support psychological care in gynaecological cancer populations.
Papers
- Seib C, Harbeck E, Anderson D, Porter-Steele J, Nehill C, Sanmugarajah J, Perrin L, Shannon C, Cabraal N, Jennings B, Otton G, Adams C, Mellon A, Chambers S. Establishing the sensitivity and specificity of the gynaecological cancer distress screen. Psychooncology. 2024 Mar;33(3):e6328. doi: 10.1002/pon.6328. PMID: 38504431.
- Harbeck E, Chambers S, Porter-Steele J, Anderson D, Sanmugarajah J, Hughes F, Nehill C, Seib C. Screening for distress in women with gynaecological cancer: Adaptation of the distress thermometer for gynaecological oncology patients. Eur J Cancer Care (Engl). 2021 Nov;30(6):e13486. doi: 10.1111/ecc.13486. Epub 2021 Jul 13. PMID: 34258811.
This study closed in 2023.
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