Objectives: In the context of an intensification of efforts to ensure sufficient psychooncological care for breast-cancer patients, the discussion concerning valid psychometric screening instruments gains a special relevance.
Methods: The discriminant and diagnostic validity of HADS-D and PO-Bado were investigated in a sample of 123 women with breast cancer diagnosed for the first time.
Results: An ROC analysis revealed a cut-off score of greater than 9 for the subscale anxiety (sensitivity: 50%; specificity: 90%) for the use of HADS-D among breast cancer patients, whereas the recommended cut-off value was greater than 7 (sensitivity: 56%; specificity: 80%) for the subscale depression. Based on the anxiety and depression scores measured by HADS-D, 74% of the clinical cases could be classified correctly. Scores for physical and mental distress measured with PO-Bado were significantly lower in the investigated sample than in the control sample.
Conclusions: HADS-D has only a moderate sensitivity for the group at hand. PO-Bado is a comprehensive basic documentation for specific psychooncological distress, though without cut-off values it is not useful as a screening instrument.