Central European Journal of Medicine Anxiety levels related to the type of therapy for cervical cancer * E-mail: irenaconic@yahoo.com Received 4 January 2012; Accepted 12 April 2012 Abstract: The aim of this study was to examine the effect of treatment type on anxiety in patients with cervical cancer. Subjects and methods: This prospective study was conducted in 60 patients with cervical cancer treated by radiotherapy. The study was done before treatment, and 3 and 6 months after initial testing. For assessment of anxiety the Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAM-A) was used. : At baseline, the values of the scale of anxiety in patients who were treated surgically were signifcantly higher than in patients who had been treated by radiotherapy, but the intensity of anxiety gradually decreased in both groups. In this study, pain and irregular menstrual bleeding were the most important risk factors for the development of anxiety. : Routine assessment should be introduced in clinical practice for the detection and monitoring of anxiety in all patients with cervical cancer, and a psychiatrist should be included in the multidisciplinary team for their treatment. © Versita Sp. z o.o Keywords: Anxiety-cervical cancer-therapy 1 Clinic of Oncology, Clinical Center, 18000 Nis, Serbia 2 Megatrend University, 11070 Beograd, Serbia 3 Clinic of Psychiatry, Clinical Center, 18000 Nis, Serbia 4 Institute for Emergency Medical Care, 18000 Nis, Serbia 5 Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Nis, 18000 Nis, Serbia 6 Faculty of Medicine, University of Nis, 18000 Nis, Serbia Irena Conic* 1 , Srbobran Miljkovic 2 , Suzana Tosic-Golubovic 3 , Zorica Stanojevic 1 , Dusan Milenkovic 4 , Biljana Djordjevic 5 , Ivana Damnjanovic 6 , Milan Visnjic 6 , Slobodan Antic 6 , Vladisav Stefanovic 6 Research Article 1. Introduction In 2005, there were over 500,000 new cases of cervical cancer, and it is estimated that most of the over one million women worldwide who currently have cervical cancer have not been diagnosed. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), cervical cancer is the second most common type of cancer among women and was responsible for over 260,000 deaths in 2005, nearly 95% of which occurred in developing countries [1]. Serbia has the highest incidence of cervical cancer compared to other republics of the former Yugoslavia and one of the largest among the countries of Southeast Europe [2]. In recent years, the incidence peak for cervi- cal cancer has shifted towards younger age groups. Cervical cancer treatment depends upon disease stage; possibilities include surgery, radiotherapy, Cent. Eur. J. Med. • 7(4) • 2012 • 490-496 DOI: 10.2478/s11536-012-0023-y 490